MLB Rumors: Boston Red Sox must go all-in on blockbuster deals

The Boston Red Sox have been tinkering around the edges of their roster in the offseason thus far and now it’s time for the club to go all-in on a blockbuster deal or two.

No doubt about it, the offseason to date has been less than stellar, at least on paper. But woe to those who question Chaim Bloom‘s ability to make chicken salad.

Bloom is a baseball master chef as the very unexpectedly successful 2021 Red Sox season amply demonstrated.

Yet, up to now, he has underperformed in constructing the Red Sox baseball powerhouse expected in 2022. So what can he do to change that perception? Let’s take a look.

The Boston Red Chaim Bloom has to be bold

This space “calls ’em as it sees ’em” as the old saying goes. Having been hammered for being both too anti-Red Sox and too pro, that perhaps might signify that it’s right where it should be.

As the younguns say, whatevahh! If Boston teams perform, they are praised. If not, well, not so much. As they say down south in Foxborough, it is what it is.

So, just how can Chaim Bloom, the Red Sox Director of Baseball Operations make the suggested blockbuster deal or deals to raise the Red Sox to World Series contender.

This space has written that early 2022 offseason moves have been underwhelming thus far.  Nothing has changed to alter that perception.

Alternatively, it has also been conjectured that the man in charge, Chaim Bloom, based on his 2021 masterclass, is more than qualified to continue to bring success to this Boston team for which anything short of a World Series win is a losing season.

So what should be done by Mr. Bloom now to make a world Series appearance and win more likely? In short, Mr. Bloom (assuming the resources are available to him, a very important question) has to be bold.

Being bold requires a blockbuster move or two to bring the club into a higher echelon of contention. Will he be able to do so? Can he do it with the resources available? We will see.

What Boston Red Sox Chaim Bloom must do to make the Red Sox top contenders

First, Mr. Bloom has to bring in a top outfielder to replace the traded Hunter Renfroe who contributed 31 home runs and 96 RBIs to the cause in 2021.

That trade was panned in this space because it reversed one of Mr. Bloom’s best moves in the 2021 offseason, signing Renfroe in the first place. It’s now essential for Mr. Bloom to add a top  right fielder to equal or exceed Renfroe’s production.

That’s not going to be easy. Bringing back fan-favorite Kyle Schwarber to play an outfield and other positions would help, but Schwarber’s defensive abilities would be a negative.

In free agency, Seiya Suzuki from the Japanese Professional Baseball League could possibly even be an upgrade. Yet, no signing has yet eventuated.

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At another position, Mr. Bloom could make an uncharacteristic splash to add a top shortstop in Carlos Correa. He’s a top player when healthy, young only 27 years old.

Correa’s arrival would allow Mr. Bloom to move All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts to second base to further strengthen the Red Sox infield.

Correia and Bogaerts would combine to make a devastating keystone combination in the middle infield. In addition, this would allow the Sox to keep Kike Hernandez in centerfield, a position at which he excelled in 2021.

In addition, if Schwarber is re-signed, Alex Verdugo could move to right field with Schwarber, a poor fielder, landing in left. Unfortunately, signing Correa is unlikely due to salary and length of contract issues.

Alternatively, Mr. Bloom could really be bold, and consider trading either of Bogaerts or third baseman Raphael Devers for an outfielder while adding Correia or perhaps Freddie Freeman to play first base as is rumored. Bobby Dalbec could play third.

Freeman is a “baseball older” 32 years old but he’s a top bat and would clearly make up for the loss of Renfroe’s production and would be Boston’s starting first baseman.

There are lots of other alterations and permutations that could be made by Red Sox chief, Chaim Bloom. The necessity, however, is this, he has to make one or two blockbuster-type moves to strengthen his 2022 team to continue to engage the rabid and informed Red Sox fanbase.

Absent one or two of these or other blockbuster moves, the team will regress and that fanbase will be anything but satisfied.

So, let’s see what eventuates prior to the season commencing on April 7 at Yankee Stadium. Hopefully, it will be invigorating.

Otherwise, we most likely can expect the Red Sox to be also-rans as they have been since the 2018 season. After the re-invigorating 2021 season, that would be a huge let-down, indeed.