The Boston Red Sox took a unique approach to the Major League Baseball trade deadline on Tuesday, as they walked the tightrope between buying and selling.
The Red Sox entered deadline day with a 52-52 record, in last place in the American League East and two games back of a wild card spot with five teams in front of them. Still, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said he wasn’t ready to give up on a team that will only need one solid run to climb back into a postseason spot.
“We were determined to find ways to also add to the group even if we move someone to where we could still honor that chance (at a postseason run) and give them that chance,” Bloom told NESN’s Tom Caron on the “TC & Company Podcast” on Thursday. “I recognize it’s a little bit of Column A, a little bit of Column B. It’s not necessarily that satisfying, but the reality is, we’re not in a very satisfying position. I feel especially in Boston, when you get a chance, even the chance that we have now, it’s a real chance to compete for a postseason spot. That’s precious. You don’t throw that away for nothing.”
Bloom explained why he decided not to go all-in in either direction, first detailing why the Red Sox had to listen to any offers on their impending free agents.
“I think the position we were in unfortunately, we wouldn’t be doing the right thing for the organization if we didn’t listen,” Bloom told Caron.
“At the same time, you can’t walk by a good opportunity for the organization. So we probably made it harder for ourselves to try to accomplish both of those things but ultimately we feel that we did. It led to a very chaotic couple of days, a painful couple of days no question about that but as the dust settles hopefully this group clicks and we’ll see what the new guys bring. I think we’re going to go forward in a pretty good place.”
Bloom also spoke about the eventual goal of being perennial championship contenders. Until the Red Sox’s front office feels as though they are at that point, they will attempt to grow their farm system as much as possible without throwing away the present, Bloom said.
To hear the full conversation about the trade deadline approach, Jackie Bradley Jr.’s release as well as some discussion about a potential locker room rift and more, check out the latest episode of the “TC & Company Podcast” on iTunes or Spotify.
