Chaim Bloom already walking back Red Sox promise to Kiké Hernández

Red Sox exec Chaim Bloom had a disappointing response to Kiké Hernández’s revelation about his promise

It didn’t take long for the Boston Red Sox front office to walk back Chaim Bloom’s promise to Kiké Hernández.

After news broke that the Sox were extending Hernández through 2023 with a $10M salary, the super-utilityman revealed that a key selling point in the negotiations was Bloom’s guarantee that next year’s team would be better. The information sparked a small flicker of hope in the beleaguered fan base.

Then, on Thursday, Bloom joined The Greg Hill Show on Audacy’s WEEI 93.7 Boston to discuss a myriad of topics, including the struggles this season and how the front office is planning ahead for 2023. A few minutes in, Courtney Cox brought up the promise and Bloom was quick to pump the brakes:

"“I think Kiké was paraphrasing a little, because there’s only so much we control.”"

The season isn’t even over yet, and Bloom is already putting some plausible deniability in place for next year. Very encouraging!

He’s technically correct: there’s only so much the front office can control. But it’s also an attempt to pass the buck. As Chief Baseball Officer, roster construction is his responsibility. He has no control over accidental injuries, such as Chris Sale and Trevor Story getting hit by pitches, but he also chose to make several risky signings, especially in the pitching department. Aside from Nick Pivetta, every single starting pitcher has spent time on the Injured List this season, along with a significant portion of the bullpen.

All in all, the conversation was exactly what fans have come to expect from Bloom: excuses and empty words. He’ll continue to say he wants to retain Xander Bogaerts – another topic covered in the conversation – but several roster moves over the last year suggest otherwise.

A team’s front office is never going to reveal their hand to the public, and fans shouldn’t expect them to, because then that same information would be available to their rivals, as well. Still, it’s disappointing to hear Bloom shut down Hernández’s story so quickly when he could’ve seized the opportunity to improve his standing with the fan base, instead. Simply acknowledging how frustrating this season has been and assuring the public that the organization will do its best to learn from its mistakes would have gone a long way. Sox fans aren’t fools; they’re passionate and deeply invested. Feeding them the same canned PR jargon over and over insults their commitment – both emotional and financial – to the team.

What matters is whether Bloom will walk the walk this offseason, or just continue to talk, and in that regard, the world will have to wait and see.

His actions will speak loudest.