Red Sox: Chaim Bloom and Boston almost got shutout at the deadline

Red Sox fall short at the Trade Deadline

The Red Sox pitched a near shutout, and the hurler was Chaim Bloom. Bloom sat on the sidelines will the team’s most notable competition made much-needed additions. The Rays quest for the big bat brought Nelson Cruz to Tampa. The Blue Jays needed bullpen and rotation help and acquired Brad Hand and more especially José Berríos. The Yankees thought power first – not unusual – and swiped both Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo.

Boston added slugger and outfielder Kyle Schwarber. The price was relatively low and typified the trend of prospects I witnessed shipped for the experienced bat or arm.  Schwarber to first base?

As the deadline action neared completion, names kept popping up to appear to be a good fit for the Red Sox. Where was Bloom? Anxiety levels rose across the social media landscape as the action subsided, and our shopping basket was almost empty. The Red Sox momentous pitching move was Austin Davis for Michael Chavis – a wooden arm for a rubber bat. Maybe reliever Hansel Robles from the ill-fated Twins will be the key to success?

The inner workings and machinations of the late July frenzy will eventually surface as a baseball trade deadline post mortem. Why did Bloom fail to shoot? Was the asking price enough for Bloom to fold and leave the table? Was the pitching situation one where Chris Sale’s return would be the avoidance catalyst? As they say in tabloid land, inquiring minds want to know.

As I and others examining the exchanges, the prospects sent in the trades are not really of the premium variety in some of the second-tier transactions and even the first tier. The Yankees got Gallo with their ninth and twelfth ranked prospects. The same applies to the Rays and Jays, which is a clever little rhyme for the bored. Maybe one of those prospects will be a future star? Probably not. At least the Jays paid a prospect price for Berríos.

Max Scherzer became a mentioned target for the Red Sox. A perfect fit for a late-season run for the flag. At 37-years-old the right-hander still is among the most solid of starters, but that is now history. What was Boston being asked to relinquish? Is Bloom more concerned about 2022 and beyond?

Could it be the value of our prospects? Does Boston overrate them? Just possible that – using the Jays as an example – that catcher Riley Adams exchanged for Hand has more value than any catcher in the Boston system? Do we fans, social media, and legitimate media place too much gloss on our up-and-coming players?

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Bloom historically has no problem wheeling and dealing. At Tampa and Boston, big names vanished from the landscape when Bloom and management thought improvement on the field and the financial ledger was possible. Supposedly senior management was willing to spend in Boston. A fabrication to appease the fans?

Forget the first tier. Just why did the Red Sox get left at the altar with second-tier players? How did Boston get squeezed out on Daniel Hudson, Joakim Soria, Kyle Gibson, and Ian Kennedy to note just a sprinkling of what was available?

I give a solid A grade for the Jays deadline moves. The Jays’ pitching was questionable, and supposedly the Red Sox had significant interest in Berríos. Bloom lost out to Toronto. Without Scherzer or Berríos coming to Boston, this became a nothing burger deadline.

A week ago, I wrote that what to watch is the other teams in the American League East. As the clock ticked down and names filtered elsewhere, I had an eery surge of baseball depression. The opposition has improved considerably, and Boston has not. If, however, you enjoy home runs that have been satisfied.