The Boston Red Sox made waves by firing their Chief Baseball Officer, Chaim Bloom, on Thursday morning.
The Red Sox are five years removed from their last World Series championship, the last year of Dave Dombrowski’s reign as head baseball person.
The 40-year-old Bloom was hired in the wake of the Red Sox’s 84-78 2019 season and had big shoes to fill as the legend Dombrowski took his talents to Philidelphia.
Bloom’s tenure only included one playoff appearance in ’21, as they got trampled by the Houston Astros in the ALCS, and his time in Boston featured two finishes in last place of the AL East, and is attempting a third this season. That is unacceptable for a big market team like the Boston Red Sox, who have won four World Series since the turn of the decade.
Five months after being hired, Bloom dropped a bombshell into the beautiful city of Boston. Trading homegrown superstar Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two prospects and Alex Verdugo, someone who has made a name for himself in Boston.
Red Sox fans were understandably infuriated, and the front office’s ‘staying under the luxury tax’ reason only fueled the fire. Bloom didn’t stop there; he traded eight 2018 World Series members over the next two years. He parted ways with massive names, including Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and J.D. Martinez, while bringing in Trevor Story on a questionably large contract.
Red Sox fans will never be able to appreciate what Bloom has done for the Red Sox farm system. Bloom and the Red Sox fleeced the Astros out of Enmanual Valdez and Wilyer Abreu for catcher Christian Vasquez. Valdez and Abreu both broke into the league this year and look very impressive. Much of their revitalized bullpen has come from trades as well.
The Red Sox have two Rookie of the Year candidates in Triston Casas and Matasaka Yoshida, alongside Marcelo Mayer, a top-10 prospect.
But the disassembly of the 108-win World Champion team left a nasty taste on the tongues of Boston residents, and missing out on a playoff spot for the second consecutive year was the straw that broke the camels back.
The blame should not be placed solely on Bloom’s back, as many decisions came from the big man upstairs, John Henry, the owner. Homegrown talents like Betts and Bogaerts departed due to their unwillingness to spend. Letting them walk to California and humongous contracts. Many believe he was fired due to listening to the owner’s instructions.
The Red Sox won four World Series in 15 years. Their payroll was ranked 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, and 1st during those seasons. Since Bloom was hired, the Red Sox have been under the luxury tax three out of four years, and their payroll this year is ranked 13th.
The Red Sox call the AL East home, one of the most brutal divisions in baseball. Unless something drastic changes over the offseason, Boston fans might have to start preparing for another mediocre season.
