4 Red Sox free agent signings making Chaim Bloom look like a genius
Chaim Bloom doesn’t have the best of reputations among Boston Red Sox fans. The former “Boy Wonder” of the Tampa Bay Rays landed with Boston several years ago only for the team to slowly get dismantled.
Mookie Betts was traded. Xander Bogaerts left in free agency. The situation in Boston looked dire. The Rafael Devers contract extension definitely helped ease some anxiety. Another big help has been the way these four Red Sox free agent signings have gone thus far in 2023.
It’s early but the way these four have played are helping to alter the narrative around Bloom’s tenure in Boston.
1) Red Sox free agent signing of Masataka Yoshida has been spectacular
Masakata Yoshida didn’t come to Major League Baseball with the same fanfare as Shohei Ohtani. Who cares about the paparazzi anyway?
Yoshida was one of the biggest additions the Red Sox made this offseason. A regular in left field and at the DH spot for the Red Sox this season, he has been an incredible addition to this lineup.
Through his first 31 big league games, Yoshida is slashing .298/.377/.496 with 6 home runs and 24 RBI. He’s second on the team in homers and runs batted in with only Rafael Devers more productive in those departments. His presence, however, has made it much tougher to work through the Red Sox lineup. The added threat of having to face Yoshida makes them a far more dangerous ball club than they’d be otherwise.
It’s no secret that offense has powered the Red Sox the most this season. On their way back toward relevancy after a mostly forgettable 2022 campaign, the free agent signing of Yoshida is keeping the Red Sox competitive.
2) Red Sox free agent signing of Justin Turner is paying off
Continuing the theme of adding ex-Los Angeles Dodgers to the roster, the Red Sox brought in Justin Turner this offseason. He joined a lineup already packed with Enrique Hernandez and Alex Verdugo as well as one other player who had a long career in Southern California. More on him shortly.
Turner signed with the Red Sox after yet another productive season with the Dodgers. He batted .278/.350/.438 with 13 home runs and 81 RBI in 532 plate appearances. Looking to go in a different direction, the Dodgers let him leave ahead of his age 38 campaign. We can’t blame them. By now, Turner should be slowing down.
Instead, Turner has been just as good for the Red Sox this year. The power is steadily decreasing but other statistics are holding up well.
Working regularly as the team’s DH, Turner is slashing .277/.370/.397 through his first 165 plate appearances. He has gone deep 3 times and driven in 14. The statistic we cannot easily look up is the impact he has on the locker room. For years, he was one of the leaders out in LA. There is little doubt he has brought some of those skills with him to Beantown.
While everyone was eagerly watching where the other Turner, Trea, would sign this offseason, it’s Justin who is having the far better start with his new ball club.
3) Red Sox free agent signing of Kenley Jansen has been unbelievably good
Not fresh off of his tenure with the Dodgers, Kenley Jansen spent last year with the Atlanta Braves. He was good but not at the elite level he was in his 12 years with Los Angeles. Jansen finished a league-leading 54 games and added 41 saves for the Braves; also the best in the league.
Despite some injury and general health concerns, Bloom and company took a chance on Jansen. His two-year deal worth $32 million is off to a roaring start. He looks like his prime hasn’t left him.
Jansen picked up his 400th career save this week and has given up just a single earned run in 11.2 innings of work. He has 9 saves and has been a stabilizing force in the back of the Boston bullpen. Things have been shaky at times for this team when players such as Ryan Brasier or Richard Bleier have been on the mound. Not Jansen. He’s looking like the right choice.
At 35, there’s little reason to believe he is cooked and will begin to falter. He will eventually have a bad night. So far, his blown save on April 29 that still resulted in a Red Sox win is the only hiccup of the year.
4) Red Sox free agent signing of Chris Martin is working to perfection
Chris Martin’s play hasn’t gone cold. Yes, he is another former Dodgers player the Red Sox convinced to come over to Boston. He finished with the Dodgers last year during a season that began with a so-so performance with the Chicago Cubs. He did end on a high note, going 3-1 with a 1.46 ERA in 24.2 innings for the Dodgers.
Knowing they’d need some help in the bullpen, the Red Sox signed Martin to a two-year deal worth $17.5 million. While not dominating on the mound, Martin has been effective and one of the big reasons why fans can trust when Alex Cora hooks one of the starting pitchers.
Martin has delivered 11 innings for the Red Sox in as many appearances. He’s 0-1 with a 1.64 ERA. Yet another one of the relievers helping to give Boston one of the more impressive bullpens at the start of the season, all of those pitching-needy teams who passed on him are wishing they had brought him to town right now.
The Tampa Bay Rays are the only team to do damage against Martin this year with a run against him in consecutive appearances back in the middle of April. His numbers have slowly improved ever since. Along with Jansen and a few other bullpen arms, Martin is cleaning up those final frames.
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