Red Sox reconstruction by Chaim Bloom may take patience

The Boston Red Sox may take a few seasons to win a championship.

The Dave Dombroski method was a success as the Boston Red Sox captured a World Series title, but what are the long term implications? That happens to have surfaced with a vengeance as the farm system is as depleted as the finances of a casino visitor. The secondary issue is the contractual situation, especially dead money.

New poobah Chaim Bloom has already undertaken the reconstruction – or is it rebuilding or maybe resuscitation? Just how far will it go? Just what direction? Maybe this is just an exercise in futurism (is there such a term?) but I trudge forward. A look at just what may happen and what is really needed – a few player successes.

The current path is rather clear with attempts to mitigate payroll, look for possible free-agent bargains, institute a degree of payroll flexibility, and reinvigorate the farm system. Mookie Betts is gone with a return that may or may not show dividends. David Price was part of the deal with the Dodgers for Betts and the Red Sox were willing to pay half Price’s remaining salary. Feel the love on that one!

Bloom will certainly have deeper pockets than what he had with Tampa. The days of big-ticket contracts may be limited, but not vanished. Boston will spend as they always have but it may be internal rather than external unless absolute necessity forces it. What looms for the future is Rafael Devers if he continues to develop as expected. The specter of that potential contract may well have necessitated the exit of Betts both to free up cash and to evaluate public opinion.

The Red Sox had a successful run combining both high expenditures and a productive farm system. The crux of the farm system development was pitching and that forced the team into questionable contracts. Price and Nathan Eovaldi certainly surface alone with trades for players who did nothing on the mound – just think Carson Smith and Tyler Thornburg. That is past history and Bloom knows it and so does player development. To maintain fiscal sanity the Red Sox need quality from the farmlands.

Bloom is a way off from having a team that blends the qualities of youth and productive veterans with a similar blend of reasonably priced players. The balancing act is making the right choices and if Tampa is the blueprint then Bloom and his crew were successful. No World Series titles, but the wins per dollar? Tampa was number one in the parsimonious department with just $670,000 spent per win and Boston (a shocker) the highest with $2.73 MM per win. As a Rays fan would say “If we only had some more money.”