One Red Sox Player is Clear Proof Chaim Bloom Has No Idea What He’s Doing

The Red Sox’s postseason odds keep diminishing the longer the 2023 MLB season continues. Although there are a multitude of reasons why the campaign hasn’t gone as planned, one name is frequently associated with the club’s shortcomings: Chaim Bloom.

While some Boston fans have been cutting him some slack, Bloom’s inability to build a competent club was highlighted at the trade deadline. Instead of deciding whether the Red Sox would be buyers or sellers, he stood pat at the deadline, essentially putting the team in purgatory for the remainder of the schedule.

One of Bloom’s most head-scratching decisions last week was opting to hold on to outfielder Alex Verdugo.

Alex Verdugo Benching

Verdugo, who’s been with the club since 2020, has been trending in the wrong direction for some time. Since July 1, the 27-year-old has tallied only 3 home runs and 12 RBI while striking out on 20% of his plate appearances and slashing .186/.264/.309.

A performance like that had the Red Sox faithful assuming that Verdugo would be moved at the trade deadline. He’s only under team control for one more year after this and with all signs pointing to a divorce in the offseason, it made sense to move on sooner than later.

Instead, Bloom’s blunder of holding on to Verdugo was further highlighted over this past weekend. The veteran outfielder was scratched from Saturday’s game against the rival Toronto Blue Jays after showing up late for the contest, which Boston ultimately lost 5-4.

There’s no doubt that his tardiness only added fuel to the fire that is his rocky relationship with the Red Sox.

It’s just hard imagining a world where the Red Sox emerge as victors from this situation. Rather than at least getting a minor league player or two back in a trade, they’re stuck with an underachieving player who they likely don’t want to bring back in 2024.

Even if Verdugo gets back on track for the rest of the season, why would he want to stay in Boston? The Red Sox have already discussed trading him and have endured a lot of losing baseball since he arrived.

While the Verdugo situation won’t torpedo the franchise, it shows that Bloom doesn’t have the instincts to run one of Major League Baseball’s most storied franchises.

You need to have a cutthroat attitude to run a big-market team like the Red Sox, and it’s evident that he needs a lot of work to get to that level. Championship teams need someone in charge who isn’t afraid to pull the trigger when necessary.

At five games back of the final AL wild card spot with 50 games to go, it’s tough to imagine the Red Sox salvaging things. Most sportsbooks have them around a 10-to-1 underdog to make the playoffs, making it clearer that Bloom’s time in charge must end this offseason.

If you do plan on betting on (or maybe more likely at this point, against) the Red Sox, your best bet is to do it on Caesars Sportsbook. Once you place your first bet of at least $10 (and all the way up to $1,250), Caesars will return the amount you wager to you as a bonus if you lose. So if you put $50 on the Sox and we blow it, you’ll automatically get a $50 bonus back. That’s about the only way to feel good about betting on Boston right now, so cash in before the offer expires!

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.