Boston Red Sox dismiss nine from scouting, player development
Eventually, the loss of revenue will raise its ugly head and that may have happened to the Boston Red Sox. Is this the result of financial losses with limited revenue or the result of a reorganization with a relatively new CBO in Chaim Bloom? The payroll body count is at nine and Boston joins other notable organizations such as the Cubs and Yankees with recent payroll contraction. But it probably (hopefully) is not about the money.
There were nine people who were laid off in the #RedSox pro scouting, amateur scouting and player development departments. It's a difficult and painful day for the Red Sox, but they didn't endure the massive cuts as the #Yankees and #Cubs had in recent weeks.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) September 4, 2020
Sean McAdam gave a partial list on the Boston Sports Journal of the nine who are all part of the scouting and player development depart. Among those no longer a member of the organization are Brad Sloan, Tim Huff, Bob Hamelin, and John Lombardo. All four are members of the professional scouting staff with Sloan having 40 years of experience.
Bob Hamelin may be a familiar name from his playing days with the Kansas City Royals where Hamelin became the American League Rookie of the Year in 1994 when he hit .282 with 24 home runs. Hamelin has been with the Red Sox since 2012 after scouting tours with the Washington Nationals and Toronto Blue Jays.
Tim Huff played two minor league seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays as a non drafted free-agent before quitting the playing field for scouting with the Jays. Huff’s career was primarily in the are of cross-checking before joining the Angels organization and then the Red Sox as a scout in 2016.
John Lombardo has been with Boston’s scouting department since 2011 and has an extensive history in scouting, player development, and minor league operations with both the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays.
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In addition to those mentioned two members of amateur scouting and three members of the player development department were dismissed. At this point in time, the names are unknown. As unfortunate as it is, it felt like it was a matter of time before something along these lines was going to occur. With no fan revenue coming in, no outside games, and no MiLB season, the need for scouts and development has dwindled.
The league has done a wonderful job of retaining as many people as it could during the pandemic, but eventually, those times had to end. It’s never a good day when people lose their jobs but again, it seemed like a matter of time. Hopefully, once things get back to some version of normal they’ll be back to what they do best either with the Red Sox or another team.
Does this represent an overhaul of internal operations now that Bloom is the CBO? Shifts at all levels are not unusual when evaluations are made and scouting has been a fundamentally well-financed operation since the days of Theo Epstein. One would assume the cost savings are minimal and it is merely an early start on an activity that usually takes place after the season has ended.