September 30 was a victorious moment in MLB history for Chaim Bloom, for multiple reasons. The former chief baseball officer of the Boston Red Sox was officially introduced as the St. Louis Cardinals’ president of baseball operations on Tuesday morning. Later that night, Bloom watched three of his Red Sox acquisitions propel Boston to a win over the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series.
In a single day, Bloom was able to celebrate his future with the Cardinals while revelling in his past successes with the Red Sox, even if some of these successes have only come to light recently, more than two years removed from Bloom's firing by the Red Sox.
Bloom’s four-year tenure in Boston was far from excellent. Though it did feature an ALCS appearance, the Red Sox were 267-262 overall during the Bloom era, and they parted with Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts under Bloom’s watch, decisions (particularly concerning Betts) that have been universally chastised in the time since.
However, Bloom’s legacy in Boston is often misconstrued. For one, Bloom was brought in by the Red Sox for his capacity to thrive with a less-than-maximum budget. Had he been given a directive by ownership to spend big without any thought for fiscal constraint, the Betts and Bogaerts decisions would look even worse.
The 2025 Red Sox are reaping the fruits of Chaim Bloom’s underappreciated decisions
And while he’s criticized for the players he let get away, Bloom isn’t given enough credit for some of the stellar acquisitions he made, probably due to the fact that some of these guys took time to … bloom in Boston.
Red Sox fans give Chaim Bloom a lot of grief, but he did a great job rebuilding the Red Sox farm system.
— Brian Grant (@bkgrant316) October 1, 2025
The Red Sox would not be in the playoffs today if it wasn't for his contributions. https://t.co/UJUGB0Nh5F
The Red Sox's September 30 Wild Card Game 1 was something of a showcase for Bloom's talent as a player evaluator. Three Red Sox players that Bloom brought to Boston — Masataka Yoshida, Trevor Story, and Nick Sogard — all played critical roles in the Red Sox pulling off an iconic win at Yankee Stadium.
Sogard, acquired by Bloom in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in February of 2021, was Boston’s unsung hero. Sogard went 2-for-4, including a legendary double in the seventh inning achieved through sheer hustle and elite baseball awareness.
Yoshida, who knocked in both Sogard and Ceddanne Rafaela on the next pitch, thereby winning the game for Boston, was signed by Bloom in December of 2022.
And don’t forget Story (inked by Bloom in March of 2022) — the veteran shortstop channelled Sogard’s savvy in the ninth inning by stealing second base after a two-out single. Story was then able to score on an Alex Bregman double, giving Boston a 3-1 cushion that Aroldis Chapman looked like he needed in the bottom half of the inning.
Thus, it can only be determined that Bloom came up huge for the Red Sox on Tuesday night, and his evolving legacy with the club is a reminder that executives are often judged too quickly. For a job that often entails building a long-term, sustainable product, how does it make sense to fully evaluate that product — and its architect — before at least five or seven years have passed?
Not only do some of Bloom’s acquisitions with the Red Sox look better now than they did then, but his work in Boston signals that he’s the perfect hire for a Cardinals franchise looking to rebuild.