Red Sox’s Chaim Bloom Reveals How Frantic MLB Trade Deadline Can Be

The Boston Red Sox made just one move before Tuesday’s Major League Baseball trade deadline when they acquired infielder Luis Urías from the Milwaukee Brewers, though rumors circulated about other moves, including pursuing veteran ace Justin Verlander.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom weighed in on the craziness that can arise from the deadline with NESN’s Tom Caron on “The TC & Company Podcast” released Friday.

“… The deal that we did with Milwaukee we knew we were in to do it I think with less than 10 minutes to go,” Bloom said. “But until right at the buzzer, you don’t know. Did we actually get this done? Do we feel good? Do they feel good about where they are with Brad Blalock and are we all pushing the button here?”

The Red Sox chief baseball officer went on to discuss other instances where deals came extremely close to the deadline, noting the Hansel Robles move in 2021 that was made just two minutes before the deadline.

“… But sometimes, that didn’t happen this year, but I’ve been in situations where you agree on something, usually it’s not a franchise-altering deal,” the Red Sox chief baseball officer said. “But you might agree on something with two minutes to go where there literally is no time for medical review and it is two heads of baseball operations on the phone talking to each other, taking each other’s word for it, and we’re not doctors so that’s a dangerous game.”

He further explained how the medical review takes place in moves that happen close to the deadline.

“But I’ve been in those situations where the medical process is one person saying to another, ‘Hey, is he healthy?’ and the answer is, ‘Yeah’ or the answer is, ‘Well, he’s got a history, but he’s playing now.’ And then you’ve got to decide okay we’re in or we’re not,” Bloom told Caron. “That is sometimes how these things go, so sometimes they can go right up to the deadline and sometimes things can happen minutes, hours, days before.

“It really just depends what time people really get down to brass tax. Usually, when there is a deadline, a lot of that stuff is going to happen close to the end but obviously not always.”