Boston Red Sox: Is it time to hit the panic button?
It's time for Chaim Bloom to face accountability for the roster he has assembled
The mood feels bleak around the Red Sox. The club are losers of five straight games and sit 10.5 games back and in last place in the American League East. As the season approaches mid-May, when is it acceptable to stop saying it’s early still and accept this team for what it is?
The Red Sox have major holes in their lineup. Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers are the only one’s producing. Trevor Story has left his bat at Coors Field, Alex Verdugo started off hot and has cooled off considerably and Bobby Dalbec looks grotesquely lost at the plate.
Bogaerts contract situation has been a distraction. Whether it is truly impacting the team as a whole remains to be seen. Fans are concerned that the face of the Red Sox will not be back in 2023.
Devers contract situation is a concern but there is time for chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom to address. Red Sox fans are concerned and rightfully so due to the club’s inability to retain their own hometown talent.
We’ve seen Mookie Betts traded, Jon Lester lowballed and traded and the Bogaerts contract extension offer was a slap in the face to the All-Star.
While the contracts of both superstars are a concern for fans, fixing the 2022 Red Sox is important and needs to be the No.1 focus for Bloom.
During the offseason, Bloom failed to address the bullpen. Yes, he did sign both Jake Diekman and Matt Strahm. Diekman has been erratic in high leverage situations and Strahm has been the one bright spot in the bullpen.
The club has lacked a true closer since the early part of last season. Matt Barnes has fell off the face of the earth and truly doesn’t deserve a spot on the roster. Diekman earned the club’s first save of the season and when asked if he wanted the closer role he told reporters he didn't “really give two shits.”
Dually noted.
Hansel Robles has been ok, but as of late has struggled to find the strike zone. He blew a save opportunity on Saturday in a 1-0 game against the White Sox.
Speaking of blown saves. The bullpen’s struggles have resulted nine blown saves in 14 opportunities this season.
Boston also needs another bat for their lineup. Jackie Bradley Jr. and Christian Arroyo in right field aren’t cutting it offensively. Fans have been heavily critiquing Bloom for trading Hunter Renfroe despite the prospect the Sox got in return. Story’s bat should have replaced Renfroe’s stick but he’s hitting under .200 and leads the team with 35 strikeouts.
The concerns with Chris Sale and James Paxton are just as important and shouldn’t be dismissed.
Tony Massarotti tweeted following the Red Sox loss on Sunday.
The Red Sox need to address the anemic offense whether that’s via a trade or with some of the prospects down in Triple-A Worcester. We got to see a small sample of Jarren Duran on Friday night and he had one hit, a triple in the loss. Triston Casas is inching closer to a big league call up. However, Bloom has shut down the idea of Casas right now.
If Bloom does anything to start fixing his 26-man roster, acquire a true closer for the ninth inning. The 2022 Red Sox are not going to make a true postseason run playing the closer by committee game.
Bloom has his work cut out for him and he needs to start addressing the issues immediately to help turn this season around.
Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisHenrique
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