Chaim Bloom Canned by Boston!
Chaim Bloom (Left) formerly of the Boston Red Sox (Getty Images)
Back in October 2019, the Boston Red Sox hired Chaim Bloom as their Chief Baseball Officer after Bloom fielded a Rays roster that went 96-66 with the lowest opening day payroll in the league. About four years later, the Red Sox have finished last in the AL East twice, lost in the ALCS to Houston, and are currently tied for 5th again in the AL East with a few weeks left in the 2023 season. John Henry and the Fenway Sports Group have seen enough of Bloom and decided to fire him before the end of the season. How did Bloom do over the last four years in Boston and what grade does he deserve for his time there? Let’s break it down by draft/international signing, free agents, and trades.
The Draft
The Red Sox entered the 2020 draft with the 27th best farm system in baseball, so you could say they didn’t have many blue chip prospects. In the abbreviated COVID draft, Boston drafted four players: two high school infielders and two college pitchers. Bloom drafted Nick Yorke in the 1st round, a 2nd baseman out of California. Yorke is now 21 in Portland (AA) and has demonstrated he can hit, posting a .801 OPS in 107 games in 2023. He has a 55 hit tool and 15-20 HR power, but will need to prove he can play 2B to reach his ceiling. The second infielder, Blaze Jordan, was taken in the 3rd round as 3B, but he’s been playing more and more first base. He’s mashed at every level until AA, where he's only posting a .690 OPS. He’s a career .295 hitter and his hit tool is better than some give him credit for.
In 2021, Bloom took Marcelo Mayer with the 4th overall pick, and Mayer has played like a future star for most of his professional career. He’s struggled in AA with advanced pitching though, hitting .189 in 43 games. However, he can’t even drink a beer yet, so we shouldn’t be too worried about him. In 2022, Bloom used his 1st round pick for a California high school middle infielder for the 3rd year in a row, taking Marcelo’s buddy Mikey Romero with the 24th overall pick. Scouts aren’t sure if he can stay at short and he’s struggled at the plate since the draft, so the bust percentage is not favorable.
On the other hand, 2022 2nd rounder Roman Anthony is now considered the second best prospect in Boston’s farm system, which is a huge hit for Bloom. The 19 year old has a 55 hit and 60 power, indicating he could have ++ power in the major leagues (think 30-35 HR a year). He’s also solid enough defensively and should profile well in right field. Finally, in 2023, UVA catcher Kyle Teel already looks like a stud behind the plate. He’s a good athlete with a plus arm who also has a 55 hit tool. Teel could end up being one of the steals of the 2023 draft, but it’s obviously early. The 18-year-old shortstop Zonatello was taken in the 2nd round by Boston in 2023. He has nice power for a middle infielder and projects to stay at shortstop at this point. If he can’t, he’s probably a good enough athlete to try center field.
Boston also signed Miguel Bleis in the international pool for $1.5M in 2021 under Bloom’s reign. Bleis has had some injuries that have kept him off the field, but he has ridiculous bat speed and 55 grade speed. His arm lifts the floor of his defense as well, making him a solid outfielder in all three spots at this point in his career. He’s only 19 years old, but he will be a star if he can keep the strikeouts down and put the ball in play. As we mentioned earlier this farm system was ranked 27th overall prior to Bloom’s 1st draft and were ranked at #16 by MLB.com in the mid-season 2023 rankins. The huge weakness here is pitching, as you’ll notice I didn’t mention many arms. I’d have to give Bloom an A for developing positions players, but he really hasn’t hit on much amateur pitching talent, and that is a debit for him.
Bloom’s grade for June draft and international signings: B+ (3.3)
Free Agents
Bloom had a quiet performance in the winter meetings in December 2019, before making his big splash via the Mookie trade a few months later. He did bring in Martin Perez, who was fine (4.50 ERA in 12 starts). Chaim also brought in Kevin Pillar, who was solid in the 30 games he played for Boston before moving on. Finally, Jose Peraza was brought in as infield depth for $3M and played at a replacement level (hit .225/.275/.342). In December 2020, Hunter Renfroe was brought in for $3.1M and did not disappoint, driving in 96 runs and hitting 31 taters. Chaim managed to sign Kike Hernandez for 2 years $14M, which really paid in the 2021 postseason run (.408/.423/.837 in 49 postseason at bats). Unfortunately, Kike was terrible for the next two seasons, hitting .222 and struggling at short before being traded to LA. Rentals like Garrett Richards and Martin Perez (2nd time) were brought in, while Hirokazu Sawamura was brought in for 2 years, $2.4M. That was a huge bargain, he had a 3.39 ERA over the two year deal. One of the last moves of the 2020 offseason, Marwin Gonzalez was brought in for $3M as a one year rental and was probably the worst signing (.567 OPS for Boston). One of Bloom’s best free agent signings was actually mid-season when he signed Jose Iglesias in September 2021 for the stretch. Jose hit .356 in 23 games after being released by the Angels. It was a short reunion that provided production the Red Sox needed at a critical time.
Chaim got comfortable in the 2021 offseason, signing Trevor Story for his first $100M deal (6/$140M). Unfortunately, this is a huge dud for Boston, and Story was out for 112 games in 2023 due to a serious elbow injury. Story was good at 2nd base in his Red Sox debut in 2022, but put up a 102 wRC+ and only hit .238. Since he’s returned from the elbow injury this season, he’s started to flash some power, but overall the offense has been putrid (.185/.221/.287). Michael Wacha was a massive bargain for $7M, putting up a 3.32 ERA in 23 starts. 42 year old Rich Hill was solid for 26 starts (4.27 ERA), and only cost $5M for the season. James Paxton was hurt all of last year, but it was only $10M and he’s been fine this year (4.50 ERA in 19 starts). Bloom signed Diekman (bust) and Strahm (hit) for the bullpen so we’ll call that a wash.
Last year in the 2022 offseason, Boston let Eovaldi, Bogaerts, and JD Martinez all walk. Kutter Crawford was the internal replacement for Eovaldi, while Boston never had an answer at shortstop this season. JD has been good this season (128 OPS+), but Justin Turner has been almost as good (121 OPS+). Corey Kluber was the dud of the offseason, signing for $10M but putting up a 7.04 ERA before being shut down for shoulder inflammation. Adam Duvall signed for $7M as a power bat who can play center field and has been a bargain (1.7 WAR in 79 games). Bullpen additions Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen have both performed, but the big signing was Masataka Yoshida for 5/$90M. In his rookie MLB season, Yoshida is hitting .291 with a strong 13.2% K rate. Despite his hitting ability, Masa’s value is limited by his lack of versatility and mediocre defense. It looks like it will be tough for this deal to pay off for Boston unless Yoshida takes the power up a few notches.
Over Bloom’s four years in Boston, he’s had great bargains (Duvall, Wacha) and blunders (Story, Kluber). I wouldn’t call either of the two larger deals successful, especially if you add Yoshida’s $15.375M posting fee to the $90M deal (105.375 M total). I think Story can be good at 2B and might be ok at the plate, but I don’t see this deal working out for Boston.
Bloom’s FA Signing Grade: C- (1.7)
Trades
No need to cover small trades here, I’ll start with the Mookie trade. Verdugo is a solid regular (2.9 WAR per 162), but the Sox are definitely missing the production they used to get from their superstar. Verdugo has hit .285 in Boston over the last 4 years, but he’s got 10-15 HR pop instead of the 30-35 HR pop Mookie has year to year. Mookie is also 6X Gold Glove and a major loss defensively. Connor Wong is a serviceable catcher and should be able hit .240 and play solid defense for Boston behind the dish. Even still, Betts has put over 22 wins worth of bWAR value, compared to 10.9 bWAR between Verdugo and Wong. Jeter Downs was a bust, but I was impressed that Bloom was able to offload half of the $96M David Price contract in this deal. They got some productive ball players, but it was silly to trade Mookie and they didn’t get enough back. I debit Bloom a bit for this, but I blame ownership for most of it.
In August 2020, Bloom moved relievers Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree to Philly for Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold. Pivetta has a 4.49 ERA (100 ERA+) over the last four seasons for the Sox, offering flexibility as both a starter and reliever. Workman and Hembree were gone anyway at the end of year, so Bloom got Pivetta for almost nothing and Nick’s been solid for 4+ seasons. Boston made a rare trade in January 2021 with their rival Yankees, acquiring Adam Ottavino and Frank German for PTBNL and cash. This was an odd move for New York, sending a set up reliever for their rival for almost nothing. Ottavino was solid, posting a 4.21 in 69 appearances. In February 2021, Boston acquired AAA catcher Ronald Hernandez and Nick Sogard for Jeffrey Springs. Springs had to get Tommy John surgery in April, but he has posted 2.53 ERA for Tampa and looked like a legit frontline starter before the elbow injury. At the 2021 deadline, Bloom traded with Mike Rizzo to get Kyle Schwarber from the Nationals for Aldo Ramirez. Schwarber played in 41 regular season games, putting up a prodigious 155 OPS+ down the stretch as the Red Sox got to the ALCS. He only hit .205 in the 2021 postseason, but he did slug three home runs.
As Hunter Renfroe had a good 2021 season, Bloom naturally tried to sell high and moved him to the Brewers for Jackie Bradley Jr, Alex Binelas, and David Hamilton Jr. Binelas and Hamilton Jr. were unlikely to make a significant major league impact at the time– this was one was a bit of a head scratcher. In 2023, neither guy has done much and Hamilton’s upside is pretty low given his size and lack of power. At the 2022 trade deadline, Bloom cut his losses on Jake Diekman, flipping him for backup catcher Reese McGuire. Reese has hit .300 in 99 games as a Sox, but hasn’t been particularly good defensively. He replaced Cristian Vasquez, traded on the same day to Houston for Emmanuel Valdez and Wilyer Abreu. Abreu has hit .326 in 15 games with the big league club and looks like he could be a legitimate producer at the major league level.
Bloom’s Trades Grade: B (2.0)
Bloom is unquestionably the scapegoat for the Fenway Sports Group that’s delivered last place twice (potentially three times) in the last four years. This was a move that was needed for optics and I understand why Sam Kennedy and John Henry want to move on. That said, ownership pushed for the Mookie trade, among other deals that didn’t work out. I don’t think Chaim’s a top five GM, but there are worse execs who still have their jobs. It’s also worth noting he drafted Garrett Whitlock in the Rule 5 from the Yankees. It doesn’t really fit any of the three groups, but it may be his crowning accomplishment. Whitlock has a 3.50 ERA and 128 ERA+ for Boston in three seasons.
Chaim Bloom’s Report Card GPA: C+ (2.33)
https://theathletic.com/4863711/2023/09/14/mccullough-chaim-bloom-mookie-betts-deal/
https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2021/12/17/22840767/chaim-blooms-top-10-moves-part-1
*All stats are as of 9/14/23