In Defense Of Chaim Bloom

Scores of fans loathed his indecisiveness at the 2022 and 2023 Trade Deadlines, whereas some were more sympathetic to Chaim Bloom, acknowledging that he performed to the best of his ability with limited resources. 

Externally, Bloom’s four-year incumbency as the team’s Chief Baseball Officer was unimpressive. Boston “clinched” the AL East basement in 2020, 2022, and 2023, only making a playoff run in the 2021 ALCS. 

Fresh off the high of their World Series win, the Red Sox possessed the highest 2019 Opening Day payroll at $242 million. Unfortunately, the team missed the playoffs that year, finishing with an 84-78 record and 19 games behind the first-place Yankees. 

After seeing Chris Sale, David Price, and Steve Pearce’s extensions age horribly, the Red Sox front office sought a culture change. Before the end of the 2019 season, they fired Dave Dombrowski. 

Subsequently, the Red Sox hired Bloom as the successor to Dombrowski. In many ways, Bloom was a foil to Dombrowski, a known free spender and farm gutter. Under Bloom’s tutelage, the Rays had a 96-66 record in 2019 with an economical $49.08 million payroll.

Bloom arrived in Boston with three primary duties: 

1. Rebuild the farm 
2. Reduce payroll 
3. Maintain a competitive team

This article will examine players from Chaim Bloom's moves (excluding Rule 5 picks and drafts) who actively contributed to the Red Sox’s surprising 2024 success. 

Rob Refsnyder

• 12/21/21 - Boston Red Sox signed free agent 2B Rob Refsnyder to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training
• *NOTE: On June 3rd, 2023, the Red Sox extended Rob Refsnyder for $1.85 million in 2024 with a $2 million option in 2025

After floating around various team’s minor league systems, Refsnyder signed with the Red Sox in December 2021. He’s played at a career-best in Boston.

Refsnyder’s platoon splits are absurd. Over the past couple of seasons, he’s emerged as one of the best platoon bats on the roster, if not the entire league. Due to team injuries, Refsnyder has stepped up into more of an everyday role in 2024, with a career-high 306 plate appearances. He’s not a power hitter, but his Hard Hit % increased by 8.1% to 43.1% in 2024. His 11 home runs for the season are another career-high.

Moreover, Refsnyder provides solid defense in the outfield. He’s made some snazzy plays in the outfield, and his arm strength ranks in the 89th percentile. 

Refsnyder is a key contributor to the Red Sox. If not for Chaim Bloom, he wouldn’t be on the roster. Both on and off the field, he provides a stable veteran presence whom many younger players look up to. Hopefully, the team will pick up his $2 million option in 2025. 

Connor Wong

• Acquired on 02/10/20 - Los Angeles Dodgers traded CF Alex Verdugo, C Connor Wong, and SS Jeter Downs to Boston Red Sox for RF Mookie Betts, LHP David Price and cash

Connor Wong demonstrated that he was the key piece in the Mookie Betts trade four years later. Though he’s cooled off since his 17-game hitting streak, his slash line sits at .285/.336/.436 (wRC+ of 113). Wong’s strikeout rate dropped 10% and sits at 23.3%. He’s made some changes to his approach at the plate, resulting in his offensive success.

Wong is pretty speedy for a catcher. His 79th-percentile sprint speed (28.4 ft/sec) is the second-best in the league, behind J.T. Realmuto. 

Defensively, there’s some room for improvement. Wong primarily played shortstop and second base before converting to a catcher during his sophomore season at the University of Houston. Because of Wong’s defensive issues, some fans have called for hotshot prospect Kyle Teel to be the team’s primary catcher. However, Wong provides some versatility beyond the catcher’s box. He can field first and second base competently. 

With his much-needed right-hand bat and ability to play first and second, there’s room for both Kyle Teel and him on the roster. Fans are already dreaming about the Teel and Wong catching tandem. 

Nick Pivetta

• Acquired on 08/21/20 - Boston Red Sox traded RHP Brandon Workman and RHP Heath Hembree to Philadelphia Phillies for RHP Nick Pivetta and RHP Connor Seabold

Nick Pivetta is a durable member of the pitching rotation. He plays the game with passion. 

By no means is Nick Pivetta an ace. His pitching stats are league-average at best.

Nonetheless, he has shown flashes of brilliance, carrying a no-hitter against the Marlins through seven innings in July. In his subsequent outing, he struck out eight consecutive batters (tying a franchise record). 

Despite his streakiness, Pivetta eats innings. In a pitching rotation plagued by injuries, he’s never injured. There is an underappreciated merit in a pitcher who consistently shows up every four to five days, delivers a quality outing, and allows the team to win.

Wilyer Abreu

• Acquired on 08/01/22 - Boston Red Sox traded C Christian Vazquez to Houston Astros for 2B Emmanuel Valdez and OF Wilyer Abreu

Fans and players questioned the Christian Vazquez trade. At the time of trade, Vazquez’s slash line was .282/.327/.432. 

Now, Wilyer Abreu is a ROTY candidate. He fares better in virtually every stat against the two frontrunners, Colton Cowser and Austin Wells. 

Abreu’s raw power is astronomical. His exit velocity ranks in the 86th percentile (91.6 mph), his hard hit % ranks in the 93rd percentile (50.4%), and his bat speed ranks in the 84th percentile (74.5 mph). 

On top of his bat, Abreu makes routine plays in the notoriously difficult-to-defend Fenway right field. He has a cannon of an arm and provides above-average defense.

Bloom sold high on Vazquez and received a ROTY candidate from the Astros in return. Need I say more?

David Hamilton

• Acquired on 12/01/22 - Milwaukee Brewers traded CF Jackie Bradley Jr., SS David Hamilton, and 3B Alex Binelas to Boston Red Sox for RF Hunter Renfroe

Following Trevor Story’s elbow injury, David Hamilton stepped up as the team’s everyday shortstop. His initial defense was… questionable. Cora exercised patience with Hamilton, filling him in the starting lineup despite his defensive miscues. 

Hamilton’s confidence grew, and by late May, he had started making routine infield plays, sometimes showing remarkable defensive prowess. His bat flourished. In mid-June, Hamilton’s slash line stood at .333/.376/.540. 

On August 29th, the Red Sox placed David Hamilton on the 10-day injured list with a left index finger fracture. His slash line was .248/.303/.395 with eight HRs, 28 RBIs, 47 runs, and 33 SB. 

Fifteen days after being placed on the IL, Hamilton still ranks 3rd in the AL for stolen bases. His sprint speed ranks in the 95th percentile (29.4 ft/s). 

A utility player with Hamilton’s elite sprint speed is a game-changer. If you need a ghost runner in extra innings, a guy like Hamilton can easily score the winning run from second base on a routine single or error. 

Fans were shocked when the Red Sox traded Hunter Renfroe. He was coming off a career season with 31 HRs, 96 RBIs, and 113 wRC+. From 2022-24, Renfroe amounted to 2.5 fWAR. Hamilton has 2.7 fWAR just in 2024 and is under control through 2026—Chaim cooked. 

Chaim Bloom came into his role at a significant disadvantage. The Red Sox possessed the highest payroll in the league. They had a young, controllable core that they wanted to keep, but their money was tied to David Price, Nathan Eovaldi, JD Martinez, and Chris Sale’s large contracts after trading prospects for Craig Kimbrel and Chris Sale. Their gutted farm system ranked in last place. 

The Red Sox directed Chaim Bloom to rebuild the farm, reduce payroll, and field a competitive major league team. Attempting to do two of those things simultaneously is very difficult. Undertaking all three tasks at once? Forget about it. 

As articulated above, Bloom rebuilt the Red Sox farm system, creating organizational depth for the future. He also modernized the Red Sox baseball operation philosophy, enforcing a more competitive, data-driven player development process. The team’s analytical research and development staff grew from 14 in 2019 to 33 in 2023. They poached Jason Ochart, David Besky, and John Soteropulos from Driveline to bolster their player development staff. 

Simply put, winning is a byproduct of player development. Successful teams are increasingly becoming more dependent on their player development systems. The Diamondback's young core, spearheaded by Corbin Carroll and Gabriel Moreno, got them to the World Series last year. (If you want to read more about player development, I highly recommend reading “The MVP Machine” by Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchik.)

Bloom managed to accomplish two of his three tasks. However, he neglected to field a competitive major league team during his tenure. Bloom made too many mistakes at the 2022 and 2023 trade deadlines and completely disregarded the major league squad. The major league product he put together on the field never transpired and was, simply put, embarrassing to watch at times. Claiming that they were fielding a “competitive” team with Jonathan Araúz, Travis Shaw, Franchy Cordero, and Marwin González playing every day was a slap in the face to fans. While Bloom managed to find position players, he never developed an effective pitching staff. Year after year, the Sox bullpen looked amazing at the start of the season but fell apart when August rolled around.  

The Red Sox hired Chaim Bloom to construct a stable, sustainable franchise from the ground up, which requires time and patience. It took a while, but we’re finally witnessing that materialize in 2024. 

Outspoken fans advocated for the Red Sox to sign big-name free agents in the offseason. Baseball isn’t basketball. One superstar won’t lead a team to the World Series. More often than not, the most important players on the roster are your backend starter, utility journeyman, or platoon bat. Bloom showed he was a shrewd talent evaluator and brought these players to the Red Sox. It took some time for them to develop, but they are key movers for the team’s success this year. 

Roman Anthony is the newly minted No. 1 Prospect in baseball. Following the implementation of Bloom’s player development systems, there’s a plethora of talent in Triple-A knocking at the door. They have the financial resources to bolster the team this winter. With their current payroll commitments for 2025, the team is about $62 million under the Competitive Balance Threshold. They are just a couple of players *cough cough starting pitchers* away from becoming a World Series contender. The Red Sox have a bright future, partially thanks to Chaim Bloom.