The Boston Red Sox flopped into last place in 2022 for the second time in three years. That’s not the type of “sustainability” that the team’s absentee ownership and its fans expected.
The team has an uphill climb awaiting it this offseason and if the preferred method is bottom-feeding at the free agent/trade troughs, they will be destined to fail once again.
Unlike his predecessor, Dave Dombrowski, Bloom has two last-place finishes in the American League East with one playoff/ALCS appearance sandwiched in between to his credit.
Conversely, Dombrowski, who was summarily dumped by the Sox owners less than one year after winning the big prize, the World Series in 2018, finished first in the AL East in three of his four years in charge. Go figure.
Boston Red Sox ownership has a lesson to learn
This pitiful scapegoating of the President of Baseball Operations, Dombro was a shameful action by the ownership and they have literally reaped what they have sown. That is last place finishes instead of Dombrowski’s almost annual first place results.
And it’s quite clear in the subsequent jettisoning of the team’s best player and former Al MVP Mookie Betts (for little in return, although salary relief in dumping David Price’s salary also factored big in the deal ) the reason seems to have been clear, the chase for the almighty Benjamins.
Dodgerblue.com liked the view,
"At the time of the trade, Betts was touted as the difference-maker for a Dodgers franchise that was seeking their first World Series since 1988. Manager Dave Roberts, Betts and other players attempted to downplay that pressure by maintaining it would take a team effort. While that held true, Betts said the expectations and pressure helped motivate him."
They did. Betts helped the Dodgers win the World Series that year. Cutting payroll and seeking to get under the luxury tax became the Red Sox’s overarching imperative. And it’s been a precipitous fall from the top to the bottom of the AL East since.
The Boston Red Sox have to either put up or fail again
The onus is on the Boston Red Sox to either act like the big market team they are or hopefully sell the team to someone who will. Bottom-feeding again isn’t going to get the job done.
This offseason moves will talk to Red Sox Nation in a loud and distinct voice. It will either say, we’ll continue to lowball the team’s Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom’s budget and fail again, or, we’ll revert to the winning ways of a big market team that spends big to be big.
The approach will be evident soon. If only bottom-of-barrel or reclamation project free agents are mined hoping to strike gold, they are likely to be extremely disappointed.
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Occasionally great moves are made that work out perfectly. The signing of Hunter Renfroe and the trade for Kyle Schwarber were two of those moves along with the signing Kike Hernandez.
Unfortunately, Bloom negated two of his brilliant 2021 moves by trading Renfroe for Jackie Bradley Jr. and not re-signing Schwarber to an extension. He head-scratchingly undid his best work and paid a heavy price, another last-place finish after the magical 2021 rush to the ALCS.
This offseason, Bloom is under the microscope. Another last-place finish in totally reversing Dombrowski’s outstanding record will almost certainly mark his last at the helm of the team.
The absentee owners will have to scapegoat someone even though they ostensibly have turned down the spigot of free agent funding to a trickle. If this continues, Bloom will likely pay the price.
Boston Red Sox need to spend big and they can
The solution is not rocket science at all. Bloom should be instructed to fashion a Division winner and spend whatever it takes to do so. This will be facilitated by megabucks available from players who will be leaving.
These include free agents Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi, and maybe even Rafael Devers in a trade. In addition, Bloom should be given an additional blank check to rebuild this moribund unit.
Two suggestions are signing Aaron Judge for whatever contract he wants and trading for Shohei Ohtani for whatever it takes, as well with no player in the entire organization (with the exception of Garrett Whitlock) off the table.
Would that be a statement of intent by the team? Indeed it would. In addition to the two superstars, Bloom will have to work some 2021-like offseason and trade deadline magic and hit on others to help fill in a roster that needs a thorough makeover from top to bottom.
We’ll know soon if the absentee owners who spend lots of time in Liverpool and are hardly seen in Boston have seen the light or not. If not and the purse strings stay tightened, then they should do the honorable thing, and sell the team. Then buy the Washington Commanders, or do whatever.
They should sell the team to an owner who will do what’s necessary as a big market team and provide a product the at times, loyal to a fault Boston Red Sox Nation deserves. It’s as simple as that and it’s simply the right thing to do.