The Red Sox announced they fired chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom on Thursday ahead of Boston’s first game of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park.
Bloom was hired by Boston after the 2019 MLB season, succeeding Dave Dombrowski. His first move as CBO was trading Mookie Betts in 2020 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a deal that included Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong.
During his four-year tenure in Boston, Bloom faced criticism — particularly at the last two trade deadlines when the Red Sox failed to address needs for their team. Boston only made the postseason once in 2021 under Bloom, and likely will miss the playoffs for the second straight season.
Here’s what those around MLB are saying about the Bloom era ending.
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Peter Abraham, The Boston Globe
“Bloom was hired in 2019, bringing with him a plan for sustainable success from his time with the Tampa Bay Rays. He instead angered much of the fanbase by methodically stripping the team of its stars and replacing them with an ever-changing cast of veterans on short-term contracts, role players and prospects.”
“It’ll be interesting to see if Alex Cora emerges as one of the candidates to run Boston’s baseball operations. He has a broad range of experience, and others in the organization felt he increased his presence in the player development this year.”
Michael Koch, Providence Journal
“Chaim Bloom’s tenure lasted just under four years. He was hired in October 2019. His legacy — trading Mookie Betts, cratering 2020, a rebound in 2021, steps back in 2022 and 2023 while elevating the farm system. Red Sox attendance is off 9% from his hiring. That’s notable.”
“Fair or not, Chaim Bloom will forever be remembered by #Redsox fans as the guy who traded away future Hall of Famer Mookie Betts (which of course was approved by Redsox ownership).”
“Under Bloom, who was hired ahead of the 2020 season, the Red Sox missed the postseason two of the last three years with the 2021 season, in which the team reached the American League Championship Series as the lone outlier. Boston is on track to miss the playoffs again this season; entering Thursday, the Red Sox were 73-72, 18 games behind the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles and 7 1/2 games out of the wild card with 17 games to play.”
Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald
“Bloom’s time in Boston felt doomed from the start. Within the first three months of his Oct. 28, 2019 hiring, the team “mutually agreed to part ways” with Alex Cora over his involvement in the Houston Astros scandal, Bloom traded Mookie Betts and David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the global pandemic began.”
