Though they’ve made a number of deals, it appears the Boston Red Sox still have moves to make if they hope to find themselves back in postseason contention. And chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom apparently has readjusted their path to get there.
The loss of Xander Bogaerts will undoubtedly weigh heavy on Red Sox fans’ minds as the team continues to navigate the offseason waters, but Boston hasn’t just been sitting around and doing nothing. The Red Sox have completely revamped the back end of their bullpen with the additions on Kenley Jansen, Joely RodrÃguez and Chris Martin. Boston also made a splash when it signed Japanese standout Masataka Yoshida.
Those moves have done enough to upgrade a pair of weaknesses for the Red Sox, but likely wouldn’t be enough to put Boston back in the postseason. The only issue is the market of free agents is dwindling, which is why Bloom has a plan to add in other ways.
“I actually think the trade market could be a really good route to adding impact to our club,” Bloom told Chad Jennings of The Athletic on Monday. “We are looking (into) a lot of significant moves there as long as we can do it in a way that isn’t just robbing Peter to pay Paul, that’s actually moving us forward in 2023 and giving us a chance to make a significant step forward from where we sit today.”
Bloom has spent his entire tenure explaining how he wants to turn the Red Sox into a consistent contender. Though that hasn’t happened yet, you can see the foundation he’s trying to set with the additions he’s made to the farm system. There are even some players like Tristan Casas and Brayan Bello who have graduated to the majors and will be relied upon to become consistent contributors in 2023. Which is why Bloom doesn’t plan on trading players with that makeup.
“I think there are deals we could make — especially if they involve young major league players — that might capture a headline but might not necessarily make you better,” Bloom told Jennings. “They might just add in one place and subtract in another. As I’ve said all along since getting here, we value being a consistent contender, and so guys that are in the pipeline are going to be a part of that in the years ahead, but what happens now matters. And for the right impact, absolutely we would be willing to, and really look to, use that stockpile of prospects.”
As teams around the Red Sox start to explore trades, it feels like a matter of time until Bloom pulls the trigger. At this point, it’s just a waiting game.
