Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom spoke with Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter feed) and other reporters today at Winter Meetings, outlining his team’s detailed plans for the rest of the offseason. Chris Martin and Joel Rodriguez represent Boston’s most notable additions so far, and Bloom said the Sox could still add at least two more relievers to increase the bullpen.
Overall, Bloom said the team wanted to add “seven eight nine“players at”build the team we want to have.” This list includes three or four position players, as well as at least one starting pitcher who can bring “benefits, leadership and consistency» in the rotation, as well as in the sleeves.
On paper, it looks like the Red Sox are aiming for a repeat of their first three offseasons under Bloom, which has seen the club make a wide range of moves, big and small, to shuffle the roster. This semi-overhaul added both everyday players and more complementary parts to the roster, with a general goal of acquiring controllable players and veterans on shorter-term contracts – with the major exception. of Trevor’s Storyand his six-year, $140 million pact last March.
Bloom’s tactic has garnered a mixed reaction at best from the Red Sox nation, as the team’s last three seasons have consisted of a trip to the ALCS (in 2021) and two final spots (2020 and 2022). ) in the AL East. Several of Bloom’s less-heralded moves have come to fruition, but several have also failed to bear fruit, and Boston’s relative lack of big-game spending has also drawn criticism given the team’s traditional methods on major markets. The Red Sox have remained at least among Bloom’s top 10 payroll teams in Bloom’s three seasons and even topped the luxury tax line last year, although many of the team’s biggest expenses were signed before Bloom joined the organization.
The Red Sox have some cash coming off the books this winter, of course, with Xander Bogaerts being the club’s most important free agent. Reports over the weekend indicated that the Sox were not one of the main market members of Bogaerts, and the Red Sox had yet to do so.”a competitive offerat shortstop.
Bloom pushed back on that speculation today, saying “certainly made her offers, we got engaged and we will stay engaged.” Bogaerts is still a priority for the Red Sox, although Bloom expected the shortstop to check out all his options on his first trip to free agency.
Re-signing Bogaerts and solidifying the shortstop position for years to come would understandably have a big impact on Boston’s plans to remake its position-player mix. Bloom noted that Story or Enrique Hernandez could potentially take over at shortstop if Bogaerts leaves, but if he stays, Story would likely stay at second base and Hernandez could bounce around the diamond, possibly staying mostly in center field.
Story and Hernandez appear to play everyday roles somewhere, and Raphael Devers has a covered third base and Alex Verdugo will get regular work at one or both corner outfield points. However, there is a bit of flow elsewhere around the diamond and a bit more opportunity to add new faces, depending on how much playing time the Red Sox want to give players as young as Triston Houses, Jarren DuranWhere Throw Downs. For example, the Sox technically have a lot of first base / DH candidates in Casas, Bobby Dalbecand Eric Hosmerbut the team still made a big effort to sign Jose Abreu before Abreu decided to join the Astros.
Pursuing Abreu would seem to indicate a greater willingness to spend on the part of the front office. A very big contract will obviously be necessary to re-sign Bogaerts, and bring Nathan Eovaldi the return will also likely require a healthy multi-year commitment. Bloom said incumbent free agents Eovaldi and Michael Wacha were still possibilities as the team explores the pitching market.
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