Four years ago, the Boston Red Sox had a pivotal trade deadline. They were half a season removed from playing in the ALCS, were only two games out of a Wild Card spot, but were dead last in the American League East despite being a game over .500 on deadline day.
Then Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom decided to play the middle ground, selling off a rental while buying some low price veterans. At the time, it was questionable. He could have gone all in, they were absolutely close enough to the playoffs. He also could have sold being last in the division. Doing neither was a middling move that ultimately set the team back a few seasons.
Now with the benefit of hindsight, we can go back and regrade the moves Bloom made at the ‘22 deadline.
Red Sox trade C Christian Vázquez to the Houston Astros for OF Wilyer Abreu and IF Enmanuel Valdez
Vázquez was headed into free agency at the end of the 2022 season. He was having one of his best offensive seasons, and Bloom decided to cash in. It felt odd trading away the starting catcher, but this one ultimately worked out.
Valdez only played 125 games with the Sox before being dealt to the Pirates in the 2024 offseason. Abreu has turned into a stalwart in Boston's lineup. He's the two time reigning Gold Glove winner in right, and continues to get better offensively every season. This move in a vacuum absolutely panned out.
Grade - A+
Red Sox trade LHP Jake Diekman to the White Sox for C Reese McGuire
The subsequent move after trading away Vázquez was to bring in his replacement. The Sox dealt Diekman, whom they had signed earlier that offseason, to the White Sox. Diekman had been serviceable, pitching to a 4.23 ERA in 44 games.
They got McGuire, who would put up almost one bWAR in 36 games in ‘22, hitting over .300 with an OPS near .900. The lefty would stick around in Boston into the ‘24 season, platooning behind the dish with Connor Wong, though he was a replacement level player with an OPS in the low .600s in 2023-24. It was a tidy bit of work by Bloom to turn a rental reliever into a platoon catcher with control, and he was impactful down the stretch in 2022.
Grade - B-
Red Sox acquire OF Tommy Pham from Cincinnati Reds for a Player to be Named Later.
The veteran outfielder Pham was having a decent season when the Red Sox acquired him in 2022. The then-34-year-old had an OPS just shy of .700, but was also a playoff tested vet. Boston had been playing Jackie Bradley Jr. that season, who had an OPS under .600 and was DFA’d after the acquisition of Pham.
Pham’s offense stayed about the same in Boston, but his defense really fell off. He clocked -4 Outs Above Average in left field, and because of that, he was a below replacement level player. Pham was not re-signed in the offseason. Nicholas Northcut was the player eventually traded back to Cincinnati, who was outside the Red Sox's top 30 prospects at the time, according to Soxprospects.com.
Overall, the Red Sox looking for a cheap offensive boost, the Sox struck out with Pham.
Grade - C-
Red Sox acquire 1B Eric Hosmer and prospects Util Max Ferguson and OF Corey Rosier from the Padres for LHP Jay Groome
One of Bloom’s savvier moves in his tenure was acquiring another playoff-tested vet and a platoon partner for a struggling Bobby Dalbec in Hosmer. Bloom got the Padres to pay down most of his contract, with the Sox only having to pay him the minimum, and acquired more prospects in the deal.
Bloom finally decided to call it quits on Jay Groome, a former top 50 prospect in baseball in 2017 and a top five prospect in the Red Sox organization. He was never able to put it all together, and the Padres bought into his potential, still only 23 at the time. He never made his big league debut and is currently pitching in independent baseball for the Kansas City Monarchs.
Unfortunately for Boston, Hosmer would get injured after just 14 games with the club and miss the remainder of the season. Rosier stuck around in the Boston system until 2025, making it as high as Triple-A, he now plays in Mexico. Ferguson is still playing in the Red Sox system, spending time with Portland and Worcester this season.
The benefit of hindsight says this move is mostly a wash due to Hosmer’s injury and the fact that neither of the other players has made the big leagues. Getting the Padres to pay almost the entire contract will give the grade a bump up, though.
Grade - C+
The deadline was a failure at the time. None of the players brought in made an impact, and the Red Sox ultimately missed the playoffs. Bloom also failed to get under the luxury tax by not offloading Nathan Eovaldi or JD Martinez, who both left in free agency that offseason. That factor alone would give the deadline an overall F because that set the franchise back a few seasons. Getting Abreu, who is now an integral part of the Red Sox's current core, will bump it up a letter grade, though.
Overall Grade - D+
Add us as a preferred source on Google