BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox are still hoping to have a manager in place by spring training, but chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Thursday it’s possible they won’t hire someone before pitchers and catchers report Feb. 12.
“It would certainly be ideal” to have replaced Alex Cora by then – but not at the cost of rushing the process, Bloom said. “Nobody wants to be at this point in a year without a manager, obviously, so that would become even more important once we get to spring training.”
The Red Sox let Cora go last week after Commissioner Rob Manfred identified him as the ringleader in a sign-stealing scheme when he was the bench coach with the World Series champion Houston Astros in 2017. Major League Baseball is also looking into whether Cora engaged in similar shenanigans after taking over the Red Sox in 2018; the team has declined comment pending the results of the investigation.
The Astros fired Manager AJ Hinch, and the Mets fired new manager Carlos Beltran – before he managed a single game for the team – because of his connection to the cheating. The Mets stayed in house and quickly hired Luis Rojas to replace Beltran, and the Astros have already conducted several interviews for their opening.
Bloom declined to comment on whether the Red Sox have interviewed anyone; he also would not say whether the team has ruled out internal candidates.
“It’s best for everybody if it just stays private until we have something to share,” he said. “Obviously speed is important, because of the unusual timing of this, but we just want to make sure we’re not going faster than we should, in order to get the best outcome in this process.”
A QUICK look at the margins of the Red Sox’s 40-man roster reveals one of the major philosophical differences between Bloom and his predecessor, Dave Dombrowski.
The Red Sox haven’t made any big moves this winter, but Bloom has still been busy. Since taking over in late October, Boston’s new chief baseball officer has made over a dozen moves to reshape the back of the roster, bringing in nine players from outside the organization while bolstering depth with a series of savvy waiver maneuvers.
In three months, Bloom has signed three free agents (Jose Peraza, Martin Perez and Kevin Plawecki), made two waiver claims (Chris Mazza and Josh Osich), added three players via trade (Austin Brice, Matt Hall and Jeffrey Springs), made a Rule 5 pick (Jonathan Arauz) and promoted five prospects to the 40-man roster (Yoan Aybar, C.J. Chatham, Bobby Dalbec, Kyle Hart and Marcus Wilson). He’s also subtracted from the group, trading Travis Lakins, Sandy Leon and Sam Travis, waiving Juan Centeno and Trevor Kelley and stashing Marco Hernandez, Brian Johnson and Bobby Poyner at Pawtucket after they cleared waivers.
That’s 22 moves affecting the 40-man roster in about 90 days. A year ago, Dombrowski made about half that, adding only one player (Colten Brewer) from outside the organization before Opening Day.
Coming off a World Series title, the roster was in a much different place than it was after a disappointing 84-win season in 2019. But the differing approaches still speak to how much Bloom values the outskirts of his roster compared to Dombrowski.
Last year, with Craig Kimbrel and Joe Kelly having departed in free agency, the bullpen was the biggest question mark for Boston. Dombrowski’s answer to that problem was to trade for Brewer, sign a handful of minor-league free agents and hope some internal options would step up.
This time around, with six out of the eight projected bullpen spots likely locked up, Bloom keeps adding depth to the equation. With a fresh perspective, he decided to move on from some known quantities (like Johnson, Lakins and Kelley) and bring some intriguing arms in from the outside.
All five of Boston’s relief additions have come from the scrap heap. Brice, Hall, Mazza and Springs had all been designated for assignment by their perspective teams and Osich was on waivers. It’s clear Bloom and Boston’s other top decision-makers saw enough in each pitcher to want to take a chance, even if it meant having to clear someone else out.
Bloom’s approach has been unemotional in that he has shown no regard for what the Red Sox have put into the players he has cut. Potentially to a fault, the Sox have tried to give high draft picks and top prospects (like Johnson, Travis, Blake Swihart and others) as many chances to make it as possible in recent years. Bloom, without having any attachment to the investments made in the players he has, had objectively looked at ways in which his group of 40 players can be improved.
The Red Sox could find at the end of spring training that none of the five pitchers they added are worth keeping on the roster. Or they could identify one or two, maybe after a couple tweaks, as a potential contributor out of a bullpen that looks pretty solid after the emergence of Brandon Workman, Darwinzon Hernandez and Josh Taylor last season.
It sounded cliche back when he was hired, but there is some truth to the notion Bloom is bringing small-market principles from Tampa Bay into a big market. He’s starting by not ignoring the back end of the roster, which was not strong for the Red Sox in 2019.
RESOLUTIONS ON Red Sox free agents could come soon.
Of the three Red Sox veterans who hit free agency at the end of last season, only Rick Porcello (who got a one-year, $10 million deal from the Mets) has found a new home. Both Brock Holt and Mitch Moreland – somewhat surprisingly – remain unsigned with just a couple weeks to go before free agency.
That might not be the case for long. Whispers throughout the industry suggest a Moreland signing could be imminent, potentially with the Red Sox. Holt’s market, which has been slow to develop, could pick up soon as teams look to finalize their rosters before camp.
Moreland was limited by injury last year but would be a good fit for Boston’s roster as a left-handed complement to Michael Chavis and Bobby Dalbec at first base. If the Sox can get him for, say, $1-2 million or a minor-league deal, it’s a slam dunk.
Holt will likely get more, with the Reds and Blue Jays among the teams known to be interested. A reunion with the Red Sox is unlikely after the addition of Peraza.
Either way, it looks like these two fan favorites will have deals soon.
DUSTIN PEDROIA’S status for spring training is “uncertain.”
“We can confirm that Dustin has suffered a significant setback while rehabbing his left knee injury. As a result, his status for spring training is uncertain,” Red Sox GM Brian O’Halloran wrote in an email.
Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham reported Tuesday that Pedroia suffered a significant setback as he tries to return in 2020 after three knee procedures.
The second baseman has played in only nine games the past two seasons. He initially underwent a cartilage restoration procedure Oct. 25, 2017.
He also had scar tissue removed during an arthroscopic surgery in late July 2018, then had a joint preservation procedure on his knee in early August 2019.
Pedroia already has expressed uncertainty about whether he’ll ever play in the major leagues again.
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