They used the term "execs" in the story.
At first, the signing drew rave reviews, though mostly from fans reading his stat line. Then, in an ESPN+ feature last week, Kiley McDaniel reported that executives and scouts around the league were shocked by the Sox’ offer, both because it came together so quickly (there’s a 45-day window once a player is posted) and because of the final numbers.
"“I sent texts around to a number of scouts and execs explaining what I thought his tools were (high contact, very good approach, average-ish power, limited defensive ability) and asking what I was missing between that scouting report and what the Red Sox paid,” McDaniel wrote. “‘Nothing,’” replied one international scouting director. “‘Overpay for me … too rich imo,’” from another scouting director. A third exec: “‘I have no idea.’” A fourth: “‘Nothing … I wish they and him luck.’” A fifth: “‘We thought he was worth less than half of what they paid.’” A sixth added, “‘I have no words.’”“In total, I spoke to ten sources in the aftermath of the signing and they all had a similar breakdown. They all had some level of appreciation for the player, but thought the Red Sox overpaid by a hefty margin.”"
On Thursday, Bloom took the opportunity to respond:
"“At the end of the day, we can’t worry about that. We have to be confident in our own evaluations. We did a lot of work on this guy, felt really comfortable that we had done enough work to feel confident where we were.If the only reason, at that point, not to do something is that you’re worried about taking criticism, it’s just not a good enough reason. I do know, and we’ve heard directly from a number of clubs, that we are not alone in our evaluation of Masa.”via Chris Cotillo"