![]() The Red Sox have built up their farm system through some extended patience, but they have little blue-chip talent outside of Triston Casas and Brayan Bello currently above Double-A Portland. There is a balance to be found between development and using those pieces to acquire proven players from elsewhere - perhaps the pendulum has swung too far back toward the Ben Cherington days of relative inaction. That speaks volumes about the franchise’s vision at the moment - it’s the opposite of bold. Boston wasn’t realistically involved when All-Stars like Juan Soto and Luis Castillo were moved at the August trade deadline - it was just another irrelevant organization on the side. Will the Red Sox meaningfully engage in the free-agent market this winter? That means paying Xander Bogaerts if and when he opts out of his contract, locking up Rafael Devers for the long term and having more than token conversations about players like Aaron Judge, Jacob deGrom, Carlos Rodon and Edwin Diaz. Will the Boston Red Sox answer Xander Bogaerts' plea for a roster upgrade? This is never supposed to be a cheap alternative, and it’s not a chronic rebuilder. They’re willing to accept the pressures of the market for two layers of security - financial and competitive. Players in Boston are used to having a certain amount of control over their respective careers. That’s partly why tepid action at the last two trade deadlines and moving on from popular teammates like Christian Vazquez and Kevin Plawecki creates an additional ripple or two here. Martinez - they've all played key roles in four World Series titles this century, and they all carried a considerable price tag. Manny Ramirez, Curt Schilling, Keith Foulke, John Lackey, J.D. The first step has generally preceded the second. Players come to or stay with the Red Sox for two primary reasons - to be paid at the top of the market and to win championships. It’s not a destination or a real selection for the game’s elite talent. Players wind up in Tampa Bay because they’ve been drafted there, traded there or cast aside by virtually everyone else. They’re a franchise with none of the demands that exist in Boston. Paxton was signed coming off Tommy John surgery and didn’t throw a pitch - he’s spent the better part of seven months with the Red Sox rehabbing his left elbow.īloom was brought here from the Rays to build a sustainable championship contender. Given their own personal histories, that shouldn’t have been unexpected. Chris Sale, Nathan Eovaldi, James Paxton, and Michael Wacha all spent time on the injured list. The starting rotation was another area where Bloom came up short for different reasons. Team building concepts: Red Sox brass and players differ on how to build a team Relying on a small sample of production from Bobby Dalbec and one last gasp from Travis Shaw at first base carried unnecessary risk. Spending only token cash to improve a bullpen that saw Austin Davis and Hansel Robles make meaningful appearances last October left Boston well short of quality. and Christian Arroyo stretched credibility. The primary question to be answered about this season - about his three-year tenure on the whole, really - involves his level of urgency to prevent such circumstances in future years.įeaturing an outfield platoon of Jackie Bradley Jr. ![]() This roster was noticeably flawed going back as far as spring training. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom wouldn’t have his current job if he didn’t see those certain glaring areas of weakness.
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