Over the last year, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has often been criticized for how the club handled the 2022 trade deadline. A series of half-measures intended on towing the line between buying and selling largely didn’t work as the Sox missed the postseason and still incurred penalties after their payroll landed over the first competitive balance tax threshold.
In the 24 hours before the deadline, Bloom shipped Christian Vázquez to the Astros for two prospects (Enmanuel Valdez and Wilyer Abreu) while swapping lefty reliever Jake Diekman for catcher Reese McGuire and acquiring rental veterans Tommy Pham and Eric Hosmer. At the time, he argued that Boston had a more functional, and perhaps better, roster than it did before the four trades. Ultimately, the moves didn’t vault the Sox into playoff contention and they finished 78-84 while the Vázquez deal ruffled feathers in the clubhouse as players viewed it as the equivalent of waving the white flag at the deadline.
With the benefit of hindsight, Bloom said earlier this week on MassLive’s Fenway Rundown podcast, he stands by the moves the club made even if they didn’t work out in terms of short-term gain. Considering the Red Sox still have five controllable players they received at last year’s deadline, the jury is still out on the long-term impacts of the deal. McGuire has generally played well behind the plate over the last two seasons and Valdez, who can hit but struggles in the field, debuted earlier this year. Abreu has a good year at Triple-A and could factor into the outfield mix soon; the two prospects obtained in the Hosmer deal, Corey Rosier and Max Ferguson, have added speed to the organization.
“I would stand by all the moves we made,” Bloom said. “It didn’t work, but we were in a position where we were not likely to make the playoffs. I think a lot of those moves, especially the ones where we got value that was gonna be with us beyond 2022, I think the merits of those showed up and continue to show up. So that’s important to remember, too.
“We made some moves, we did stockpile some future value and we grabbed some rentals where we thought the was price was right to keep us afloat,” he added. “I thought we got out in front of some 40-man roster issues reasonably well. But ultimately, you win 78 games and you end up over CBT, that’s not good. So that’s something that, certainly with the benefit of hindsight, we would wanna do differently.”
On the morning of deadline day last season, the Red Sox were 52-52 and sat 18 games behind the Yankees in the American League East and three games out of a wild card spot. FanGraphs put their chances of making the postseason at 28.8%. Riding a four-game winning streak into Thursday’s off day, the Red Sox have a 31.1% chance of playing in October. Last year, the odds dictated what Bloom decided to do. This year, even after dealing Kiké Hernández to the Dodgers earlier in the week, Boston’s exact deadline strategy is still to be determined.
“At the day of the deadline, we were definitely on the outside looking in,” Bloom said. “I think arguably, even more than where we are now, frankly. But still having a real shot, right? And so chances are, whatever you do when you’re in that position, you are not gonna get in. That’s why the odds are what they are. That was the fact we were looking at when we were getting down the deadline.
“I think the only thing we could have done that would’ve had our clubhouse high-fiving would frankly just not have been very smart. That’s the nature of where we were. Knowing that once you push the button on a deal, there’s certain factors of that deal that are gonna go out of your control. Getting in front of that, managing it differently, that was something we spent some time talking about. I think a lot of the reaction was just inevitable. But it’s certainly something you always look for: Is there any way we could have made that smoother? Understanding it wasn’t gonna make people happy, but could we have made it smoother?”
The Vázquez deal, which was completed minutes before the Red Sox and Astros were about to face each other at Minute Maid Park, played out more publicly than Bloom or his lieutenants in the front office would have preferred. That made for an awkward scene the night before deadline day, especially considering no one from Boston’s front office was in Houston representing the group.
MORE FROM THE POD: Why Chaim Bloom wants players with control for Red Sox rather than rentals
Bloom said the Red Sox plan to have a front office representative with the team in Seattle on Tuesday when the deadline passes.
“Obviously a lot of the communication around that, whether it was within the clubhouse, whether it was with our group, knowing the club was on the road at the time, knowing how it went down and how it became very chaotic on the ground, that’s obviously something we spent some time digesting,” he said.
“We try to actually review it afterwards. Whether we are high-fiving each other or whether we’re sitting there with our arms folded, we try to review it afterwards and say, ‘What went well? What do we wanna do differently next year?’ We keep those notes and then you pull them out when you’re getting ready for next year. I think we do that with as many processes as possible. That’s how you get better, or it’s at least one way that you can get better.”
BetMGM Massachusetts $1,000 FIRST BET OFFER
Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21 years of age or older to wager. MA Only. New Customer Offer. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Rewards issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets. Bonus bets expire 7 days from issuance. In Partnership with MGM Springfield. Play it smart from the start with GameSense. GameSenseMA.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org.
- Related: Mobile sports betting is live in Massachusetts on BetMGM. Get started with a $1,000 first-bet offer
