Red Sox: Chaim Bloom must find balance between the owners and fans
The Boston Red Sox found the person they feel can right the ship ahead of 2020 but he’ll need to balance the desires of the owners with those of the fans.
We’re just a few short weeks away from the Winter Meetings and that’s where we’ll likely see new Red Sox CBO, Chaim Bloom, begin to do his thing. There were some rumblings that Bloom was mingling with the other GM’s as well as agents at the recent GM Meetings in Arizona. With some serious goals to tackle not only this winter but also in 2020, he’s going to need to find a balance to achieve both.
Boston is in a time of transition and that’s exactly why Chaim Bloom was brought into the fold. At least for the time being, the owners want to get away from the big-time spending of old and make their way to being more fiscally responsible. I think it’ll be a long time before we saw anything big as far as contracts are concerned, with the most likely being an offer for Mookie Betts.
If Bloom wants to make his bosses happy, he has to keep the checkbook closed as much as possible with new acquisitions coming via the trade market. The problem with that is that the Fenway Faithful won’t take too kindly to another winter full of inactivity.
Yeah, extensions were given to Xander Bogaerts and Chris Sale, while Steve Pearce and Nathan Eovaldi were re-signed, but only one of those players was a factor in 2019.
Lots of money was thrown around last winter with little coming from it and that led to the removal of Dave Dombrowski in favor of Chaim Bloom. The Red Sox owners can say all they want that getting below the $208M threshold isn’t just an idea, it’s a mandate.
They’ve even gone as far as saying it’s not a mandate. If you have to make several statements about it not being a mandate, kind of makes me think it sure as hell is.
So we know what one side of the coin is for Bloom and that’s not spending a single penny while also fielding a team that won’t be embarrassing in 2020. Now we have to bring it back to the other side of the scale and that’s Red Sox Nation.
As I said above, there was a lot of frustration with the quiet winter and then the shameful behavior leading into the Trade Deadline. I’m not saying that Fenway Park will ever be empty like we see with other teams, but it sure won’t be a happy crowd.
If the Red Sox go through another offseason and trade window without making any significant improvements to this team, then Fenway will turn into the coliseum and that crowd will be unruly.
It will not bode well whatsoever for Bloom and the organization if they put the budget ahead of wins. Yeah, it’s in their best interest to get below the line to save picks and loads of cash, but there are some serious needs that need to be addressed.
Finding a balance between the owners and the fans will be a serious challenge for Chaim and won’t come easily by any means. Red Sox Nation has become very accustomed to the team spending whatever was necessary in order to win. As we head into 2020, that narrative is vastly changing and it may not end well.
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In my eyes, in order to appease both sides of the coin, Bloom will need to be a magician on the trade market. Like, I’m talking Dumbledore levels of wizardry. He needs to move some not so team-friendly contracts while also bringing in players that can have an impact right away.
Getting prospects is a nice thought, and Bloom has a vast experience with growing a farm system, but we need help now, not in a few years.
Having spent his career in Tampa has allowed Chaim to see how the Red Sox operate from the outside but now he’s in the lion’s den. He will be more scrutinized than ever before for any and every move he does or doesn’t make. As the Winter Meetings hit next month, all eyes will be on him and he’ll have to step into the spotlight.
Next. Austin Maddox could bolster the Sox bullpen. dark
There are ways that he can do what’s best for the team as well as the owners’ bank accounts but it won’t come easy. I have zero doubt that he will do everything in his power to make the Red Sox a contender again in 2020. He’s got the pieces but needs just a few more to put the puzzle together. It’ll all come down to whether or not the owners have full faith in him and will give him some leeway in order to do his job to the fullest.