It’s difficult to foretell what exactly the Boston Red Sox will do before the Aug. 31 Major League Baseball trade deadline, as internal and external developments ultimately could affect what deals are available.
That said, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom would prefer to be active over the next couple of weeks as Boston navigates a disappointing 2020 season with an eye toward a brighter future.
“I think regardless of where our record stood, it would always in a vacuum, be our preference to be active,” Bloom told reporters Wednesday during a video conference. “Because when you are, it means you have opportunities to upgrade your organization and to advance your goals. And you’re always looking for those opportunities, in my opinion, regardless of where you stand.
“There’s also a lot of factors this year with the trade deadline that are different. We have to be mindful of those factors. But within that — and making sure we’re paying attention to everything that comes along with this unique season — we want to try to be active if we can find things that we think are positives for the organization.”
The Red Sox snapped a nine-game losing streak Wednesday with a 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Fenway Park. Still, Boston holds one of the worst records in the league and presumably will look to sell pieces at the deadline in hopes of acquiring assets that’ll help the club down the road.
“You have to keep the big picture in mind.”
Chaim Bloom, on Red Sox’s trade deadline approach
Does that mean Bloom expects Boston to contend for a World Series title in 2021? Or 2022? Or 2023?
Well, the answer to that question is complicated, obviously, but certainly some decisions made both now and this upcoming offseason will go a long way toward determining when the Red Sox are best equipped to vie for another championship banner.
“I don’t think it’s wise for us to put timetables on those things,” Bloom said of the rebuild. “I think if we are doing the right things, sometimes timetables can accelerate. It’s hard to foresee that. A lot of the time, when you start to get cute and try to sync those things up and think you can predict the timetable exactly, you end up doing things that are counter to what your objectives were in the first place.
“You have to keep the big picture in mind. If that’s behind everything we do, we might find that things come together more quickly than people might expect. I wouldn’t try to put a timetable on that. I think we have to make sure we’re assessing our options and potential moves in light of what we’re trying to accomplish overall.”
In other words, just because the Red Sox have struggled to this point, doesn’t mean they’ll be sitting on their hands with the trade deadline approaching.
The next couple of weeks are important for both buyers and sellers, with Boston probably falling under the latter category yet still very much motivated to make moves.
