Red Sox’s Alex Verdugo Reacts To Chaim Bloom’s Exit: ‘We Understand It’

The Red Sox parted ways with now-former chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom ahead of Thursday’s day-night doubleheader with the Yankees, creating a vacant seat in Boston’s front office.

That decision came amid another rough season in which Boston remains on the verge of slipping into a third last-place finish in the last four seasons, making for a second consecutive playoff miss. Pulling the trigger in an abrupt fashion to relieve Bloom came as a surprise, but one that was understandable to Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo.

“Obviously it’s one of those things, man. This is a game that’s a business at the same time, so we understand it,” Verdugo told reporters after Thursday night’s 8-5 loss to the Yankees. “It was just something that caught me off guard, but I think at the same time we go out there and play two games. We’re still professionals, we understand that there’s two different sides to the game. … It kind of caught us off guard, but at the same time we all did what we have to do to get ready for the game and go out there and compete.”

Boston shook off the pregame news, defeating New York, 5-0, but failed to complete the doubleheader sweep, losing three of four to the Yankees and finishing the seven-game homestand at 2-5.

Bloom was responsible for bringing Verdugo to Boston from Los Angeles, acquiring the 27-year-old in part of the 2020 Mookie Betts trade with the Dodgers. That alone didn’t prompt their relationship, but spending three seasons together allowed the two to converse and bond along the ride.

“Me and Chaim, we talked a lot. We had a lot of conversations with each other,” Verdugo explained. “Some of them good, some of them bad. And when I say bad I don’t mean it in a sense of like it was a bad conversation, it was more of like he let me know when I was doing something that he wanted to see me get a little bit better. So I think for me and him, our relationship was a good one. He wanted the best for me, he wanted to push me.”

Having played for the Red Sox for four seasons, Verdugo has only experienced Fenway Park’s playoff atmosphere once.

In Boston, Bloom lasted nearly four full seasons, guiding a deep playoff run in 2021 that saw the Red Sox come two wins short of a World Series appearance. Yet, with the follow-up being back-to-back subpar finishes, Boston seeks a new front office leader to put the last two seasons in the rearview mirror. That puts the Red Sox in a premature offseason mode, looking toward 2024.