4 front office candidates that have turned the Red Sox down
Boston's front office opening hasn't exactly been in high demand since they fired Chaim Bloom.
After a disappointing season that led to last place finish in the AL East, the Red Sox fired Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom in September, and the search for his replacement has been nothing short of embarrassing for the organization.
With a list of executives who have said 'no' becoming more extensive seemingly with every passing day — Twins GM Thad Levine being the latest to exit the search, hardly a week after word broke that he was involved in it — names keep popping up and disappearing in a confusing game of baseball executive Whack-A-Mole.
During Bloom's four-year tenure, the Red Sox never cracked third in their division and saw the departure of beloved fixtures in Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts. New additions, like Masataka Yoshida, breakout seasons from Jarren Duran and Triston Casas, as well as promising top prospects in Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony, have pointed toward bluer skies on the horizon, but the Red Sox are still missing the most crucial piece of the puzzle — the person who will put it all together and see them to a winning season.
Will that person be Craig Breslow, who reportedly accepted the job? We'll have to wait on the team to confirm.
Who has turned down the Red Sox as Chaim Bloom's replacement?
The Red Sox are looking high and low for the person who might lead the beleaguered Red Sox toward greener pastures, with attentions turning now toward former San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler, who was fired after the Giants failed to reach the postseason this year. Here are six notable candidates who have already passed on the maybe-cursed Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer position.
Kim Ng
After the Miami Marlins attempted to hire someone above general manager Kim Ng, despite Ng leading the team to only their fourth playoff appearance in franchise history, the Red Sox saw an opportunity to make her their first female GM in the club's history. However, she turned down an invitation to interview with Boston almost as quickly as it was offered.
This is a recurring trend in the Red Sox's search, which has left names so scattered across the internet that it's becoming increasingly hard to catch up. Ng hasn't made her reasons for refusing the invitation public, but her rejection to participate in the process at all makes her one of the most high profile executives to opt out.
Derek Falvey
Though attentions have since turned to (and left) Thad Levine, Minnesota GM Derek Falvey's number two in the Twins organization, Falvey declined to interview with the Red Sox in 2019, following Dave Dombrowski's departure and prior to Bloom's hiring. It paid off for Falvey; the Twins glided into first place in the AL Central and had a promising postseason appearance this year. He also managed to sign and retain shortstop Carlos Correa, despite last year's offseason worries about his ankle, and develop the Twins' 2023 postseason breakout Royce Lewis.
Mike Hazen
Arizona Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen has ties to Boston, having grown up in a suburb of the city. Rumors swirled that he might replace Bloom this year, as his contract with the Dbacks was coming to an end, but they were quickly put down when Hazen extended his contract to stay in Arizona through 2028.
With the Diamondbacks having such a successful postseason run, grabbing the last Wild Card spot in the NL after a down-to-the-wire fight with the Chicago Cubs, and working their way up to a Game 7 in the NLCS, it's not much of a surprise.
Jon Daniels
Tampa Bay Rays senior advisor and former Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels is another candidate who was offered a chance to interview with the Red Sox in October, but he too turned it down swiftly. WEEI reported that Daniels wanted to keep his family in Texas, which is a fine enough reason on its own, but it doesn't factor in the fact that the Rangers have also seen a remarkable postseason run this year. He joins the list of executives unwilling to leave their comparatively more successful teams to take on the uphill battle of restoring the Red Sox to its historical glory.
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