Chaim Bloom Explains Why He'd Sign Rafael Devers Over Mookie Betts
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One of the first moves Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom made to ingratiate himself with his new fanbase was to trade away superstar outfielder Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The front office leader has been dealing with the ripple effects of the blockbuster deal ever since, which can be proven by a quick search of Bloom's name on Twitter.
Now the Tampa Bay Rays product faces a similar conflict, with superstar third baseman Rafael Devers entering the final year of his contract. Fortunately for both Bloom's reputation and the fanbase, he appears much more likely to sign Devers in 2022 than Betts in 2020.
"We are in a different situation," Bloom told Rob Bradford on WEEI's "Bradfo Sho" on Monday. "For me the Mookie thing... what I will say about it is the organization at that point was in a really tough position."
He went on the explain how he was not judging the decisions made by Dave Dombrowski and the rest of the Red Sox's front office because it ultimately led to a championship. However, they depleted all resources in doing so.
"The organization at that point (heading into 2020) was in a position where clearly, just in terms of present outlook, just in terms of how good the Red Sox could expect to be in 2020 as they were constituted was clearly not the class of the division and were at the bottom of the heap in terms of the farm system," Bloom said. "And there were a ton of commitments on the books. We're fortunate, we're blessed with great resources here but obviously you still need to have freedom with those resources and a lot of those resources were tied up."
Bloom now is more comfortable with the current position of the organization and with good reason.
"We are in a different position as an organization," Bloom said. "I think the young talent in the organization is in a much better spot and we are not committed in the same way financially to as many players as we were (in 2020)."
"The organization is in a better position to be able to (sign a marquee free agent) if we find that right deal," Bloom said.
Bloom's quotes call for optimism, as the Red Sox front office does not appear to have the same willingness to move on from Devers as they did with Betts. The long-term outlook is much more favorable than it was at the beginning of Bloom's tenure, with a farm system improving year over year and a current roster with much more talent than the 2020 team, that would eventually go 20-40, could boast.
As he said at many points, his words don't hold much value if he doesn't come through, but that message is indicative of how determined he is to get a deal done.
Devers is a cornerstone of the franchise and the Red Sox have the financial flexibility to lock him down long term without repercussions.
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