Top 6 options to replace Chaim Bloom and fix the Red Sox.
The Chaim Bloom era for the Boston Red Sox is over.
The Red Sox announced Bloom’s departure Thursday, nearly four years after hiring him as chief baseball officer in October 2019. To put it colloquially, they fired him.
There has been speculation that Bloom, 40, may be shown the door, and it’s hard to argue that there’s any dissonance between that and the state of the Red Sox.
Despite the 73-72 victory, the team entered Thursday on the verge of finishing last in the American League East for the third time in four seasons.
Boston’s ownership, including key owner John Henry, shares responsibility for where the Red Sox are today. But they can’t be kicked out, so the question now is how the team fell apart and who will fix it.
The Red Sox case
In retrospect, Bloom’s rates seem easier than his shots.
Blum’s trade of Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in February 2020 would have been the worst trade in Red Sox history if not for the more awful trade of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. His fatal mistakes include a baffling strategy at the 2022 trade deadline, losing Xander Bogertz and Nathan Eovaldi in free agency last winter, and failing to improve the team at this year’s trade deadline.
To be fair, Bloom doesn’t appear to have had any hits.
The Red Sox are just two games away from the 2021 World Series, and the club’s future looks brighter now than it did in 2019.
The Red Sox, who turned out to be a hit despite early warnings about the $90 million contracts of Rafael Devers, Triston Casas, Jarren Duran (under 26) and free agent Masataka Yoshida, are sure to be embarrassed.
. On the mound, 24-year-old Brian Bello has established himself as a top prospect who can be relied upon.
Meanwhile, agricultural systems may deteriorate further.
Baseball America is optimistic about the No. 5, despite B/R’s Joel Reuter and MLB.com ranking it the 16th best system in MLB.
However, there is little disagreement that Marcelo Meyer, outfielders Roman Anthony and Sedana Rafaela and catcher Kyle Thiel are rookies.
The pay may not be good either.
The Red Sox started with the 10th-highest payroll every season from 2000 to 2022, but they posted the 12th-highest payroll this year.
How should the Red Sox settle?
All of which means that whoever replaces Bloom on a permanent basis – managing director Brian O’Halloran will now handle day-to-day operations – will inherit a lucrative position. But they will still have work to do.
If there’s one area the Red Sox absolutely need to improve on, it’s defense.
The important thing is not that they are worse at running the ball than other teams, but how bad they are.
They are minus-50 below average, 27 fewer than the next worst team.
In addition to Bello, starting pitching is also an issue for Boston.
The club’s rotation has a 4.86 ERA among MLB players, due in part to its penchant for long balls.
Even if the young players don’t go anywhere, Boston’s lineup risks becoming unbalanced. If Justin Turner declines his 2024 player option, he and Adam Duvall will become free agents this winter.
So the Red Sox could lose their two primary sources of right-handed hitting.
Alongside these short-term concerns, Bloom’s successor will need to ensure the well-being of the club’s current and future prospects. The Red Sox need to improve their scouting and training infrastructure as much as possible.
Despite recent positive developments, it would be nice to see more of this infrastructure dedicated to pitching.
Evaluating Bloom’s Six Alternatives
And now the big question is: Who can do all that for the Red Sox?
This is just wishful thinking at this point, so we’ll have to keep an eye on our list of six future options.
However, they stand out because they have demonstrated that they are A) actually engaged and B) able to do the job well.
- Billy Eppler (New York Mets General Manager)
The Mets hired David Stearns as president of baseball operations, but Eppler is now a subordinate and faces an uncertain future for the organization.
Effler is the player who drafted Shohei Ohtani in 2017, so he should be a front-runner for Boston if they plan to sign Ohtani this winter.
But that might be the only reason to watch it. He finished his tenure with the Los Angeles Angels without much success and, let’s be honest, was a replacement for the Queens.
5.
Mike Hazen, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Arizona Diamondbacks
Whether or not Hazen is a true option for the Red Sox is debatable.
After all, he is the best man in Arizona’s front office and has signed a multi-year contract.
Otherwise, Hazen is a Massachusetts native who worked in the Red Sox front office from 2006 to 2016.
Despite the disastrous 2021 season, the Diamondbacks have been exceptionally competitive under his leadership.
And the 2023 edition has what Boston could have wanted: the best defense in the league.
- Sam Fuld, general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies
Fuld is from New Hampshire, grew up close to the Red Sox, and could have worked for them if things had gone differently in 2020.
He was a candidate to become Boston’s head coach before Alex Cora took over.
As Phillies general manager under president of baseball operations (and former Red Sox front office) Dave Dombrowski, Fuld helped them reach the 2022 World Series with another potential season on the cards. The organization has plenty of free agents, so Fuld is a great option for 2024 if the Red Sox want to make a quick turnaround.
Three. Minnesota Twins GM Thad Levine
Levine and president of baseball operations Derek Falvey have more wins than they’ve had since taking over the Minnesota front office in 2017, and this year’s team could make the playoffs for the fourth time in seven years.
It’s not easy to pinpoint how this feat was accomplished, but the most interesting thing about Boston right now is that the Twins’ starting lineup leads the American League in WAR.
The merit of one of you for this would be enormous.
2.
Mike Chernoff, general manager of the Cleveland Guardians
Since Chernov took over as president of baseball operations for Chris Antonetti in 2016, only three teams have won a game better than the Rangers.
Since then, they have reached the minimum wage, even the lowest third.
.
So the Red Sox should take a look at Chernoff and ask what they can do with a bigger budget.
I think it would be better if a pitching factory were built in Boston like in Cleveland.
- Los Angeles Dodgers GM Brandon Gomez
Gomez spent just the last two seasons as general manager under Andrew Friedman, but those two seasons saw unprecedented success in the past decade.
The Dodgers have the best of both worlds, maintaining a strong player development system without consistently being in the top five payroll.
In addition to personal experience with such things, it’s a nice bonus that Gomez is once again from Massachusetts.
