Chaim Bloom is keeping an open mind as he enters his first offseason as chief baseball officer of the Boston Red Sox.
He must, for the organization has several needs and a desire to trim payroll, making it very difficult to construct a hard-and-fast to-do list.
“To put things in priority order would be limiting,” Bloom told reporters Monday at the Major League Baseball general managers’ meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., per MassLive.com. “Obviously, at some point, you start taking paths and that will maybe define what happens next. At this stage, I don’t think it makes sense to try to impose an order.”
Basically, Bloom isn’t ruling out anything — at least publicly — as he looks to build a roster capable of contending in 2020 and beyond, and it’s that willingness to think outside of the box — among many other characteristics, of course — that likely appealed to the Red Sox as they sought to replace former president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
“I would say to look at it in terms of Need A, Need B or Need C might be a little limiting for us,” Bloom said. “To zoom out and take a look at … we know our objective is to prioritize sustainability and competitiveness, not just this coming year but also in the long term. To think of moves through that lens instead of trying to arrange an order of needs is how we’re approaching it and it should open up more options for us.”
The Red Sox need to improve their pitching, both in the rotation and in the bullpen. They also need to figure out who will play first base and second base in addition to gaining clarity regarding the long-term future of right fielder Mookie Betts, who is entering the final year of his contract and can test free agency next offseason. This obviously will require some juggling, especially with Boston seeking to get under the $208 million luxury tax threshold, and this week’s GM meetings mark the first significant opportunity for Bloom to get his hands dirty.
“I think it’s our job to create as many opportunities as we can to look at a different paths for us to go forward,” Bloom said. “Just for us to really make sure we are surveying the landscape in the best way to go forward and make the future of the Red Sox as good as it can be.”
The Red Sox stumbled to an 84-78 record and a third-place finish in the American League East in 2019 after winning the World Series in 2018. An immediate turnaround isn’t out of the question given the talent Bloom is inheriting upon making the jump to Boston from the Tampa Bay Rays’ front office, but the moves the Red Sox make over the next few months could go a long way toward determining the team’s ceiling in 2020.
