While Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom left fans and media members alike with more questions than answers after a rather confusing approach at the Major League Baseball trade deadline, his plan to build sustainable success appears to be working.
"The Red Sox just missed making the top 10 for the first time since they were No. 7 in mid-2016," MLB.com's Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Sam Dykstra wrote Tuesday. "The strength of the system is infielders, including first-round picks (Marcelo) Mayer, (Triston) Casas, Nick Yorke and Mikey Romero. Two of Boston's most electric prospects are international outfielders Ceddanne Rafaela and Miguel Bleis."
The Red Sox landed at No. 11 on MLB.com's latest farm system rankings, highlighting a quick rise from the No. 25 position the club held in 2020, Bloom's first season with the team.
Bloom did his best to explain the reasoning behind trading Christian Vázquez but keeping impending free agents J.D. Martinez and Nathan Eovaldi. But the best answer is results, and his budding farm system speaks much louder than his consistent messaging.
The Red Sox have risen steadily at each point of the farm system re-evaluations that occur twice a season since Bloom joined the organization.
He's aiming to build a franchise that can win in the present and has the ammo to stay at the top. The model to follow would be the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have been great annually and somehow still have the No. 2 farm system on the list despite their willingness to make big splashes at every turn. The Dodgers, like the Red Sox, are a large market team run by a Tampa Bay Rays' defect.
