October 6 - The day after the season ended, the Sox signed 24 year old starting pitcher Easton McGee off waivers from Tampa Bay. He pitched in one game for Tampa after going 6-9 with a hideous 5.93 ERA for Durham. The Sox liked his makeup so much they sold him on November 9th to Seattle for a bag of cash. Why sign the guy just to trade him before he even hit spring training?
October 13 - Think that was the only one this happened to? The Red Sox signed 30 year old career minor leaguer Jake Reed from the Baltimore Orioles only to lose him to the Los Angeles Dodgers on November 18th. Again, what's the point of signing him to begin with?
November 6 - The Sox released JD Martinez, Rich Hill, Nathan Eovaldi, Matt Strahm and Michael Wacha. Everyone but Wacha deserved to go but letting Wacha go after he was the Sox unsung hero of the dreadful season just goes to show that he wasn't appreciated. Martinez and Hill are all washed up, Strahm wasn't that good while Eovaldi went 6-3 but was injured for a lot of the season.
November 7 - Xander Bogaerts opted out of his contract to become a free agent. The word came out that he was low-balled in Spring Training and wouldn't negotiate again much like Jon Lester in 2014. Unlike Lester in 2014, the Sox didn't trade Bogaerts at the deadline for something before he walked for nothing. Also Tommy Pham was let go as well, so much for him being apart of the outfield in 2023.
November 10 - The Sox released a lot of their Worcester personnel including Hudson Potts, Deivy Grullon and power hitter Pedro Castellanos. Potts was the last link to the Mitch Moreland trade so the Sox essentially gave up Moreland for nothing. Grullon was picked up at the end of 2020 as catching insurance and he got leapfrogged by Reese McGuire on the depth chart. Castellanos was the surprise as he's been Portland's best hitter for 2 years before he hit 5 home runs for Worcester after a call-up. With the Sox going to go with Triston Casas going forward, Pedro was expendable. Once again, why didn't they trade Pedro during the season to get something for him rather than just let him walk?
November 11 - 20 year old Dominican prospect Starlin Santos got busted for steroids after going 3-2 for the DSL Sox. Not surprising when the Dominican Sox shed a lot of their underperforming players on the 15th, Santos also got the axe.
November 15 - Xander Bogaerts and Nathan Eovaldi turned down their qualifying offers meaning that the Sox lowballed them both. Fans should have known something was terribly wrong with the way Bogaerts was being treated at this point.
November 18 - The Sox officially released Yu Chang and Franchy Cordero. Lots of people knew that Cordero was going to be a bust when the Sox made the idiotic trade to send Andrew Benintendi to the Kansas City Royals. Not only did Cordero flop like a fish but Josh Winckowski got hammered this season as well. By cutting ties with Cordero, Bloom admitted he made a mistake by trading for him. Any success Benintendi has in the future is more shame on Bloom.
November 23 - The Sox traded a 17 year old Dominican teenager named Inmer Lobo who was 2-0 with a 0.82 ERA for the Do-Sox for 26 year old utility infielder Hoy Park. Yeah, trade a potential stud for a poor man's Rob Refsnyder...great. Also, the Sox signed 31 year old mediocre relief pitcher Joely Rodriguez to a contract. Apart from a hot stretch with the Yankees in 2021, he's been straight batting practice for most of his career. For a team struggling for good pitching, signing this guy was like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Sox sign a pitcher with a 4.56 career ERA, yippie
December 6 - With the Red Sox reputation already in the toilet for failing to sign Bogaerts already, baseball fans and media alike once again laughed at Boston when free agent pitcher Andrew Heaney turned down a big contract from the Red Sox to take LESS MONEY to sign with his hometown Texas Rangers. At this point, Sox fans had soured on Bloom to the point that they didn't expect to sign anyone, including Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts, etc. Also Norwtih Gudino signed with the Sox...yay.
December 7 - In a complete flip flop of years past, quite frankly the Sox got RAIDED on Rule 5 Draft day. The Sox lost promising starter Thad Ward to the Washington Nationals, our favorite Naval pitcher Noah Song along with Cameron Cannon to the Philadelphia Phillies and AJ Politi to the Baltimore Orioles. The worst part wouldn't come for another week which I'll get to later, stay tuned. The Sox picked up 27 year old reliever Joe Jacques from the Pittsburgh Pirates and 26 year old pitcher Ryan Miller from the New York Yankees. Miller was a flop for the Single A Hudson Valley Renegades last year and Jacques was mediocre for the Indianapolis Indians in Triple A.....yippie.
December 7 continued - The Yankees re-signed Aaron Judge for 360 million. Judge probably will break down after a few years but the point was the Yankees signed their superstar back. All eyes were on the Red Sox and Bogaerts after this.
December 8 - The Philadelphia Phillies signed shortstop Trea Turner for $300 million which showed that former Sox GM Dave Dombrowski was serious about making Philly contenders again after falling short in the World Series. How did the Sox respond? By signing 36 year old reliever Chris Martin who pitched in Pawtucket back in 2013 for 17.5 million. Martin wasn't good enough to crack the Bearded Brother Sox in his prime and NOW they want him? The Sox were looking progressively worse by the day.
December 9 - The inevitable happened as Xander Bogaerts signed an 11 year 280 million dollar contract with the San Diego Padres. 11 years is a bit too long for a 30 year old but the bottom line was the Sox refused to sign their own superstar after watching the Yankees bring Judge back. Never one to mince words, Xander's agent Scott Boras basically said the Sox made such a lowball offer back in Spring Training that Bogaerts wouldn't negotiate until after the season....where he got lowballed again. Just like Jon Lester in 2014, only this time they didn't even get anyone at the deadline for Xander. Chaim Bloom was so arrogant that he'd get Bogaerts back that he didn't try to deal him at the deadline, which is a massive loss to a fanbase that's boycotting Fenway. To add insult to injury, Matt Strahm signed with the Philadelphia Phillies leaving the Sox without a dependable lefty in the bullpen.
I think I'm going to be sea-sick
Poor Jansen, signed when fans are outraged at management
December 13 - As if missing out on Andrew Heaney was a bad enough, the Tampa Bay Rays bought the services of Philadelphia Phillies starter Zack Eflin for $40 million. With the Sox desperate for starting pitching, losing out on another potential starter just shows that the team isn't even trying to compete. Fans were calling for Bloom's dismissal more than ever by this point.
Eflin goes to Tampa
December 13 continued - The Sox DFA'd Hoy Park to make room for their biggest acquisition of the off-season, signing closer Kenley Jansen to a 2 year 32 million dollar contract. As we all know Jansen served one home run after another to the Red Sox during the 2018 World Series and now Jansen is 35 and coming off a 3.38 ERA for the Atlanta Braves. The Sox did need a closer so this move wasn't so bad but remember how I said the Sox traded a 17 year old with promise for Park? Well now they traded Inmer Lobo to make room for Jansen.
December 14 - Superstar shortstop Carlos Correa signed with the San Francisco Giants for 350 million. The Sox lost out on Bogaerts and didn't even bother to replace him. The Sox are banking on Trevor Story staying healthy to play short in 2023, god help us all.
December 14 continued - Remember at the trade deadline when Christian Vazquez was sent to Houston for potential stud Enmanuel Valdez and Wilyer Abreu? Vazquez sounded like he was very interested in returning after the season so Sox fans looked at the move with optimism. Well so much for that because Vazquez signed a 3 year 30 million dollar contract with the Minnesota Twins. It was also revealed that Vazquez actually called the Sox to come back, but they themselves weren't interested. So now Vazquez can have a second wind in Minneosta while the Sox now pray to god that either Abreu or Valdez pans out. The good news was Valdez was launching balls out of Worcester to end the season. Hopefully he could make a good impression in Spring Training....but who are we kidding? Most likely he'll flop just like all of Bloom's trades have so far.
December 15 - The entire world laughed at the Red Sox again as they DFA'd Jeter Downs, one of the prospects they got for Mookie Betts for their newest free agent signing.....Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida. Yoshida was a prolific home run hitter in Japan but there's no guarantee he can hit major league pitching. The DFA of Downs was a double dose of failure because he never developed which makes the Betts trade look even worse. Not only that, remember how the Sox lost Ward and Song in the Rule 5 draft? If they DFA'd Downs two weeks earlier, they could have protected Ward or Song. Instead, Ward and Song are gone and Downs was cut to make room for an unproven commodity. In his interview, Yoshida admitted he didn't speak English well and when it comes to the Sox, he'll do his best. Its a shame because if he starts the season 1 for 18 with Red Sox nation furious at the front office, they'll boo him out of Fenway and he'll try to swim back to Japan on their first west coast trip.
December 15 continued - The Sox were once again the laughing stock of baseball when free agent starter Carlos Rodon signed a 6 year, 162 million dollar deal with the Yankees. The Yankees and Sox both needed starting pitching help and the Yankees got their guy. Rodon was what the Yankees were missing last year when it was Gerrit Cole and pray. The Sox are banking on Chris Sale and James Paxton being healthy next year.....HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!
Yankees are just teabagging the Sox
Sox gave up a prospect and Hosmer for HIM???
December 16 - In another sign that Chaim Bloom has no idea what he's doing, he traded 24 year old Portland reliever Jacob Wallace (who went 8-2 for the Sea Dogs last year) to the Kansas City Royals for 27 year old Wyatt Mills who has a career ERA over 6. On top of trading a rising prospect for a bum, in order to clear space for the bum, Chaim designated Eric Hosmer for assignment. Back in 2020 the Sox traded Kevin Pillar for Wallace and last year traded Jay Groome for Hosmer and two prospects. Hosmer played in just 14 games because of an injury. So essentially Bloom gave up Wallace, Groome and Hosmer for Wyatt Mills 6.21 ERA. Great trading!
December 16 continued - Old friend Andrew Benintendi signed a 5 year, $75 million deal with the Chicago White Sox. One month after the guy he was traded for was unceremoniously dumped, he gets a nice pay day from Chicago. Not bad for a guy who Red Sox Nation foolishly claimed was "Washed up" at the old age of 24 back in 2019. He also hit .321 for the Royals in 2021, I don't know you might have been able to use him against the Astros.....or now.
December 17 - The Chicago Cubs signed Dansby Swanson to a 7 year 177 million dollar contract which makes the Sox look even worse because they offered Bogaerts LESS than not only what he'd make in San Diego but what Swanson will be making in Chicago. Just another sign that the Sox are not serious about winning.
December 17 continued - JD Martinez signed a one year 10 million dollar deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, reuniting the aging slugger with Mookie Betts. This was the one guy Sox fans weren't too sad to let go after he looked like he was declining in 2022. Still, if he was going to sign to a one year deal, with the Sox needing protection for Devers, why didn't the Sox just give him 11 million and try to find better options this coming July? Better than spending 10 million on James Paxton to face two batters and Garrett Richards 10 million to put up Tyler Danish numbers.
December 18 - In a move of complete desperation, the Sox signed 38 year old Justin Turner of the Dodgers to a 2 year 22 million dollar contract. He's a veteran bat that will be the DH this coming season and play third base to spell Devers. Only problem is he's 38 and likely will break down himself. JD Martinez got 10 million from the Dodgers and the Sox doled out 11 million for arguably the inferior player. That's not depth, that's desperation.
Paid more for Turner than bring JD back
Who needs his 2.33 ERA when you can have Mills' 6+
Sox signed a switch hitter who can't hit on either side
Sox could have used him for only 7.5 million
December 19 - After being officially released in the Worcester dump on November 10th, Eduardo Bazardo signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles. Bazardo was called up in early 2021 and struck out 3 batters in 3 innings before suffering a nearly season ending injury. In 2022 Bazardo posted a 1-0 record and 2.76 ERA in 16 innings. So naturally because he hasn't shown he's completely incompetent, Bloom cut him loose. Cuts Bazardo and trades for Wyatt Mills and his 6 ERA.....great.
December 21 - Somehow Carlos Correa's deal with the Giants fell through and the New York Mets swooped in to steal him for a 12 year $315 million dollar contract. Just like with Bogaerts, the Mets are gonna regret the contract in about 5 years when Correa starts to decline. Still, the fact the Mets are going for the throat this season shows an owner that cares and wants to win. How did the Red Sox respond to all these big free agent deals? They signed Houston Astros utility infielder Niko Goodrum to a minor league contract. Goodrum hit a whopping .116 for the Astros last year, exactly the guy they need to replace Bogaerts right? Too bad the current regime doesn't like Brock "The Hitman" Holt for some inane reason.
December 22 - Compounding the Sox' decision to sign a bum like Goodrum, the Cincinnati Reds signed 32 year old 1st baseman/outfielder Wil Myers to a 1 year 7.5 million dollar deal. THAT'S the guy you'd want off the bench to get on base or possibly hit one out every now and then. Instead the Sox sign Goodrum and his .116 batting average for pennies on the dollar. Also Jeter Downs signed with the Washington Nationals after being officially released today along with Eric Hosmer. The Sox traded Jay Groome for NOTHING!
December 27 - After pulling a "Psycho" Steve Lyons and joining the Red Sox for the third time last off-season, 42 year old Rich Hill signed a one year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hill was a solid number 4 starter going 8-7 with a 4.27 ERA with the Sox last year but at 42 years old, it was time for him to go. The Sox already have Sale, Paxton and Pivetta as veteran starters with younger guys in Whitlock and Bello to round out the rotation leaving Nathan Eovaldi and Hill expendable. Hopefully Hill finds success with the Pirates next year. Letting Hill go wasn't so bad in the grand scheme of things.
December 28 - Chaim Bloom's bizarre trade deadline came back to bite the Sox in the ass as Nathan Eovaldi signed a 2 year, 34 million dollar contract with the Texas Rangers. Why does this bite the Sox in the ass? Since the Sox were over the luxury tax after the trade deadline, they only get 5th round draft picks for Bogaerts and Eovaldi as compensation instead of third rounders. Eovaldi leaving on his own isn't really a bad move since he gave the Sox everything he had for the last 5 years after a steal of a trade by Dave Dombrowski. Its sad to see him go but fans are definitely grateful for what he gave to the team since 2018. Not getting a third rounder is on Bloom for being a failure.
Thanks for the memories, Nate
December 28 - The Miami Marlins signed free agent shortstop Jean Segura to a 2 year, 17 million dollar contract. For that price and his skillset, the Sox look like clowns for signing Niko Goodrum over him. 17 million in this climate isn't much. Instead of paying 17 mill for Segura, they dove in the dumpster to get Goodrum. Good work Bloom!
December 28 - The Red Sox replaced 32 year old Eovaldi with 36 year old former Cy Young award winner Corey Kluber for a one year, ten million dollar contract. Like Garrett Richards in 2021 and Paxton last year, Bloom is throwing 10 million at a guy who everyone claims is washed. He's nowhere near where he was when he almost strongarmed the Cleveland Indians to the 2016 World Series championship but he still had one of the better strikeout to walk ratio last year. Keeping guys off the bases would be a good change of pace. This may be one of the only good moves off the off-season because when healthy, the Sox are trotting out a rotation that's now Sale, Kluber, Paxton, Pivetta and Bello or Whitlock.
Kluber's coming to Boston
January 11 - Remember how I said the Sox signed Justin Turner? To get him on the roster the Sox designated Darwinzon Hernandez for assignment. He was traded a few weeks later to the Baltimore Orioles for a bag of cash. Amazing how he was a 22 year old phenom throwing 100 mph in 2019 but flamed out after the Covid shortened 2020 season. Good luck in Baltimore.
January 11 continued - The Sox finally made the right move when they locked up Rafael Devers to a 10 year contract extension. After Xander Bogaerts walked for nothing, they weren't going to make the same mistake twice and made Devers essentially a Sox player for life. Talk about a silver lining to a dreary off-season.
January 13 - In another laughable move, the Sox signed 30 year old career 4A player Greg Allen most recently of the Pittsburgh Pirates to a minor league contract. Why is this laughable? They could have signed any number of guys better than him. Still, if the idea is to mentor up and coming hitters in Worcester, why not?
January 17 - In order to get Corey Kluber on the 40 man roster, Connor Seabold was designated for assignment. On this day he was traded to the Colorado Rockies for either a PTBNL or a bag of cash, whatever Colorado wants. Once considered the centerpiece of the Brandon Workman trade back in 2020, Seabold flamed out in 2022 as a junkballer. With the trade of Seabold, the earlier trade of Jacob Wallace and the release of Hudson Potts, the only prospect left Bloom acquired in the 2020 dump is Zack Bryant, who was straight batting practice in Portland last year. Bloom's looking worse with each transaction.
January 19 - Good news, the Sox signed Edwin Diaz! No....not the star pitcher for the New York Mets. They signed the 27 year old Puerto Rican utility infielder who's yet to play in the Majors! What, you wanted the Mets pitcher? Well too bad.
January 21 - If you thought Bloom was done signing bums, you'd be wrong. 32 year old journeyman Ryan Sherriff was signed who last appeared in MLB getting hammered for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021. After spending 2022 in the Philadelphia system, Bloom signed him to a minor league deal. Once again, just like James Paxton, Corey Kluber and Chris Sale, they're banking on Sherriff pitching like he did in 2017....where he went 2-1 with a 3.14 ERA for the St. Louis Cardinals. Too bad he's going to be 33 in May.
January 25 - Bloom tried something different as he signed a reclamation project. 25 year old left handed pitcher Skylar Arias went 2-1 with a 3.91 ERA for the Winston-Salem Dash in the Chicago White Sox system last year. If nothing else, he'll fill out a roster spot in Greenville or Portland.
January 24 - On the same day Tommy Pham signed with the New York Mets, the Sox traded lefty Josh Taylor to the Kansas City Royals for a PTBNL and 27 year old utility infielder Aldalberto Mondesi. Taylor definitely regressed in 2022 after being a dependable lefty for 3 years, but to trade him for the .140 hitting Mondesi is just absurd. Its a wonder just how Bloom and his staff evaluate talent. What kind of analytic nerds look at Mondesi hitting .140 for one of the worst teams in baseball and think "Oooh we got to have that guy"?
January 24 continued - But wait there's more! The Sox designated long time reliever Matt Barnes for assignment and signed aging 34 year old slugger Adam Duvall to a 7 million dollar contract. Duvall did manage to slug a few homers in the 2021 postseason for the Atlanta Braves including a grand slam in their World Series victory over the Houston Astros, but he hit just .213 last year with 12 home runs. The Sox don't trust Jarren Duran after he crashed like a shooting star last year so they signed a 34 year old to play centerfield. Remember how I said Andrew Benintendi signed with Chicago for 15 million a year? Bloom went cheap....again.
Duvall in happier times
January 26 - The Sox once again went bargain basement shopping and ended up with 29 year old shaggy haired backup catcher Jorge Alfaro and 29 year old speedster Raimel Tapia. Alfaro was Miami's starting catcher in 2019 and 2020 before becoming backup in San Diego last year. Tapia was Toronto's starting outfielder last year who doled out plenty of misery to the Sox in 2022. Bloom probably signed Tapia just so he wouldn't beat up the Sox anymore. Alfaro will compete with Connor Wong for the backup catcher spot. Signing Christian Vazquez back might have been a better option. Still, both guys bring eccentric hairdos to the Sox, that's good for something right?
January 30 - To round out the month of madness, the Sox traded Matt Barnes to the Miami Marlins for 35 year old veteran reliever Richard Bleier. To make room for Bleier, the Sox designated Franklin German for assignment. Barnes wasn't too happy about being traded and once again everyone is looking at Bloom for keeping Ryan Brasier over Barnes and Taylor. Bleier had two decent years for Miami in 2021 and 2022 but there's a huge difference in pitching down there where no one cares and Fenway Park with a lot of very pissed off fans. Still, the name of the game is pitching and Bloom is throwing whatever he can against the wall hoping someone will stick.
January 31 - Another bargain bin signing occurred when Bloom signed 32 year old career minor league left handed pitcher Matt Dermody. Dermody has only pitched in a whopping TWO major league games since 2017. He went 6-3 with Chicago's AAA team last year so this is just a depth signing more than anything. If people are going to ask "Why bitch about spring training invitees?" Keep in mind the pitchers the Sox could have had if they spent some money to avoid bargain bin signings.
February 2 - Ever heard of Joe Jones? Of course you haven't! Apparently Chaim Bloom has and he signed the 26 year old right handed pitcher as a spring training invitee. He pitched in the Independent Leagues the last two years. Rachel Phelps would be proud.
February 3 - In yet another showcase of Bloom's failure, Franklin German was traded to the Chicago White Sox for 26 year old mediocre Double A reliever Theo Denlinger. As mentioned earlier, German was the prospect the Sox got along with Adam Ottavino from the Yankees. German was nails for Worcester last year but faltered at the big league level. Apparently Bloom was so disgusted he jettisoned the 25 year old for a 26 year old that posted a 4.70 in AA last year. Great trade.....
February 6 - Chaim "Rachel Phelps" Bloom did it again when he signed 32 year old pitcher Cam Booser to a minor league deal. All you need to know about him is he posted a 6.49 ERA for the Amarillo Sod Poodles in AA at the age of 30. Two years later Bloom looked at that and said "Ooooh he's cheap, let's get him!" Why?
February 9 - In another case of Bloom still thinks its 2017, he signed Jake Farria to a minor league deal. Farria was a pleasant surprise for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2017 but most recently was batting practice not only in 2021 for the Diamondbacks but last year in AAA for Minnesota. If the Sox were getting 23 year old Farria, that would be cool...but 29 year old Farria coming off two down years? Ugh.
So in the last two months the Boston Red Sox were flushed completely down the toilet by incompetent management. As it stands now the starting lineup for the Sox looks like this:
LF - Verdugo
1B - Casas
3B - Devers
RF - Yoshida
SS - Story
2B - Arroyo
DH - Turner
CF - Duvall
C - McGuire
Bench - Hernandez, Refnsyder, Duran and Wong
Bench - Hernandez, Refnsyder, Duran and Wong
SP - Sale
SP - Pivetta
SP - Bello
SP - Kluber
SP - Whitlock/Paxton/Winckowski
RP - Martin
RP - Rodriguez
RP - Houck
RP - Brasier
RP - Bleier
RP - Mills (Seriously Bloom?)
CP - Jansen
Signing Turner at least gives them a possible DH combination. Theoretically the Sox could move Devers to DH and have Turner play third on occasion.....ugh. The season hasn't even begun and fans are furious of the moves that have been made....and not made. If Sox owner John Henry has mentally checked out and Chaim Bloom continues to prove he's in over his head....this is going to be a long year. The worst part is the Hot Stove isn't even over yet. Who knows what other boneheaded blunders are in store for the Sox. Just look at that roster, the superstars like Betts and Bogaerts are gone, Sale and Kluber are pretty much washed up, JD, Vazquez and Benintendi are gone and Devers wont even see a fastball if Yoshida and Story are in a slump. On the pitching side its a complete crapshoot with the rotation and who knows how the bullpen will perform. Wacha, Rich Hill and Eovaldi aren't coming back so the Sox are banking on Sale, Kluber and Paxton staying healthy and kids like Winckowski and Bello developing. Last year neither of those things happened. As a whole....everything stinks!
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