Red Sox’s Chaim Bloom ‘Excited’ About New Additions To 40-Man Roster

The Boston Red Sox recently added four players to the 40-man roster and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom is excited about what they can add to the squad.

Boston on Friday added infielder Jeter Downs and pitchers Kutter Crawford, Josh Winckowski and Brayan Bello to the 40-man roster — protecting them from selection in the upcoming Rule 5 draft.

“As far as the four players we added, we’re really excited about all of them, Bloom said via team-provided audio. “All four of them are guys that we’re pumped to have in our organization, excited to add to our 40-man roster.”

Arguably the biggest name added to the 40-man roster was Downs who notably was acquired by the Red Sox in their trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers for Mookie Betts. The middle infielder currently is ranked as the organization’s No. 6 prospect according to Baseball America.

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“Obviously Jeter Downs has been under the microscope I think here for a while and even prior to that, been a part of a couple high-profile trades. Didn’t have his best year but ended on a very positive note. I think we were able to help him figure some things out along the way,” Bloom said. “Having just seen him in (the Arizona Fall League) I think he’s in a really good frame of mind headed into the offseason. We still love his ability and think that he’s really going to impact us down the road.”

The three pitchers, on the other hand, haven’t garnered much buzz, but each could end up having an impact on Boston’s squad.

“(The pitchers) are very different but all of whom have the ability to impact a major league club down the road and perhaps early on for some of them in 2022 in a variety of different roles,” Bloom said. “They all have the upside to start games and they could all help us win games in other capacities if they end up not being starters.”

There’s no telling exactly what will happen, but all in all the future seems to be bright in Boston.