3 Reasons the Red Sox Will Be Contenders in 2024 (and 2 Reasons They Won’t)
By Tyler Maher
5. Won’t Contend: Bloom has dug them a pretty big hole
Unfortunately for Boston, Bloom’s mistakes have set the franchise back several years. He’s dug the team a pretty big hole, and asking them to climb out of it in one offseason is a pretty tall task.
The Red Sox would be in much better shape if Bloom had either a) signed a lot of the star players he let leave or b) traded them for something before they’d left.
Betts and Xander Bogaerts should both still be here, for example, but Bloom traded Betts and lost Bogaerts in free agency after completely butchering his extension talks.
Boston would also have even more young talent coming up if Bloom had handled the last two trade deadlines better. Can you imagine how loaded the farm would be if he’d traded Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, Nate Eovaldi, Michael Wacha and Rich Hill in 2022? Or if he’d dealt James Paxton and Adam Duvall this summer?
For a guy who was so concerned with stocking the minor leagues, he missed out on some massive opportunities to do so.
Because the Red Sox were trying to half-contend and half-rebuild under Bloom, they’re stuck in this weird middle ground. Their farm system is better, but not elite. Their roster has talent, but not enough.
The new GM needs to pick a lane and stick to it. If Bloom had done that, we’d be ready to compete in 2024.
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