Red Sox met with rejections for Bloom replacement

Ten years ago - even five - would you have envisioned the Boston Red Sox becoming an organization that executives around Major League Baseball would want to avoid? Per, Sean McAdam, that seems to be the case.

"According to multiple sources, the Red Sox have been been met with a number of rejections by some targeted candidates as they seek to find a replacement for Chaim Bloom, fired in September. Some of those prospective hires have been put off by the level of turnover that’s taken place in the baseball operations department over the last dozen years or so. The new hire will be the fifth person in charge of the department since 2011," said McAdam.

Sources add, "there’s concern about the surrounding infrastructure. The new hire will not only be inheriting manager Alex Cora, whose job has been guaranteed by ownership for at least 2024, but also, a front office that includes several executives who’ve been part of the organization for more than two decades, along with various other department heads who come with the job."

With perhaps one of the most important offseason campaigns for the Red Sox in recent memory seemingly just getting started, this is a less-than-desirable way to kick things off.

The Red Sox finshed 78-84 for the second consecutive season and last in the American League East. Bloom was fired on September 14, prior the the end of the season. Four days ago, Boston also fired pitching coach, Dave Bush, and third base coach, Carlos Febles. Manager, Alex Cora will return as manager in 2024, entering the fifth and final year of his contract.

Did the Red Sox make a mistake moving on from Dave Dombrowski?

So, the question lingers. What about the Boston Red Sox head front office position is undesirable? Would it be the inheritance of Alex Cora? A lack of structure on the staff or the front office? Unknowns regarding free agency? What to do and where to deal existing free agents? Perhaps all of the above are at play. But, one question needs to be asked. Did the Red Sox make a mistake moving on from Dave Dombrowski?

Dombrowski helped bring the last World Series trophy for the Red Sox back to Boston in 2018. During Dombrowski's tenure as president of baseball operations, he constructed three first-place teams, consecutively, and boosted the Red Sox to the peak of baseball relevancy with the franchise's winningest season in history in 2018.

Bloom was brought in shortly after, and just to say it, objectively, it was not a move that turned out favorably for the Red Sox.

Sure, Bloom bolstered the farm system and brought in young talent such as Marcelo Mayer, Nick Yorke, Roman Anthony and others, but with the exception of a lone ALCS appearance in 2021, the Red Sox have failed to accomplish close to anything since the duck boat parade last headed through Lansdowne and Boylston Street five years ago.

The Boston Red Sox are not, and have not, historically been an irrelevant, or unappealing landing spot for executives, managers, or players. However, with the teams' recent lack of success, executive turnover, and lack of clear direction, are they starting to become one?