Red Sox' First Offseason Roster Move Fixes a Chaim Bloom Mistake
By Tyler Maher
The Red Sox have a lot of work to do this offseason if they want to undo all the mistakes that Chaim Bloom made while he was in charge.
That won't be easy, of course, and it will certainly take more than one winter to fix. But at least Boston got a head start by unloading one of Bloom's bullpen busts on Wednesday.
Told the #RedSox have placed RHP Kaleb Ort on outright waivers. 6.27 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP over 47 appearances since 2021.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) October 11, 2023
Red Sox Release Kaleb Ort
The Red Sox announced on Wednesday that they placed reliever Kaleb Ort on outright waivers, effectively jettisoning him from the roster.
This move was long overdue, as Ort was arguably the team's worst pitcher in both 2022 and 2023. After debuting with 1 appearance in the 2021 campaign, he logged a 6.35 ERA in 25 appearances during the 2022 season.
Incredibly, Bloom brought him back for 2023, and the results were nearly identical. Ort made 21 appearances and finished with a 6.26 ERA, which actually qualified as an improvement!
One of Bloom's fatal flaws with roster-building was his blind spot for terrible relievers. He gave guys like Ort, Ryan Brasier and others far too many chances, putting too much faith in their underlying numbers rather than their actual performance on the field. Given Ort's advanced age for a rookie (he was 29 when he finally got called up) and lack of an MLB track record, it's inexcusable that he was a) allowed to return for 2023 and b) not released at any point during the season.
Instead Ort remained on the roster, and Alex Cora had no choice but to keep sending him out to get shelled, as he lacked better options.
Boston's bullpen was consistently a major issue under Bloom, mainly because he kept stocking it with the Kaleb Orts of the world. Hopefully his successor builds a bullpen with pitchers who can, you know, actually pitch.
Ort was terrible, but you know what isn't? BetMGM's $200 welcome bonus for new users that's guaranteed to pay out whether you win or lose your first bet. Just wager $10 after signing up through the exclusive link below and you'll automatically unlock the $200 bonus!
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