Red Sox chairman Tom Werner says he backs Chaim Bloom despite recent results
The Red Sox have made the playoffs just once in four seasons under Bloom.
Last week the Boston Red Sox extended their star third baseman Rafael Devers with a club record 11-year, $331 million contract. The news came a few weeks after shortstop Xander Bogaerts decided to sign a contract with the Padres rather than return to the Red Sox in free agency.
On Wednesday, Devers’s contract was officially announced when he joined chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and team chairman Tom Werner at Fenway Park for a press conference.
Among other things, Werner was there to back Bloom, who took charge of the team’s personnel decision making back in 2019. Over his four years in charge, the Sox have made the playoffs just once and have not finished first in the division.
The 39-year-old Bloom was previously a member of the Tampa Bay Rays front office, where he began as an intern in 2005 and worked his way up to vice president of baseball operations, which he served as from 2014 until his 2019 departure.
At the press conference Wednesday, Werner made it clear that the team’s ownership was not concerned about Bloom’s aptitude despite finishing in last place two out of his four years in charge.
“I think that he’s one of the finer heads of baseball operations in baseball,” Werner said. “He had a tough year last year; we all had a tough year.”
The chairman also reassured fans that the ownership group was entirely committed to winning and that while rumors over a team sale have circulated, their only focus is bringing as many titles as possible back to Boston.
“People should know that not only are our brains into trying to fix the last-place finish but our heart is with our fans,” Werner said.
Since Bloom took charge, the Red Sox have traded away an MVP in Mookie Betts, two above-average outfielders in Andrew Benintendi and Hunter Renfroe, and starting catcher Christian Vazquez. Bloom has also let players like Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi, and Bogaerts sign elsewhere as free agents.
Despite the roster turnover and an AL East basement finish in 2022, Werner stated the ownership is committed to spending to keep the team a contender.
“I don’t know if we are four, five, or six, but we’re not a small-market team,” he said. “Our fans expect us to be competitive and we try to be competitive.”
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