I saw the same thing from Bloom in Boston, and now everyone needs to have patience.
When the St. Louis Cardinals traded Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday afternoon, it all felt very familiar to me.
Why? Because I've seen Chaim Bloom execute deals like this before. See, I covered the entirety of Bloom's tenure as the chief baseball officer of the Red Sox (2019-23), so I feel like I have a pretty good handle on his playbook.
He believes in long-term sustainability as an organization. He does not believe in putting all the chips into the center of the table for one ill-fated run.
He's going to do what he can to find young pieces that can grow in the organization. He's not going to completely punt on the present, but he's absolutely got an eye for the future. He will trade away aging veterans that are good players. He will trade away players with minimal years of team control, and he will eat money owed to those players, all in an effort to acquire more - and better - prospects.
He's not afraid to ruffle some fan feathers, like when he traded away Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi, and when he let Xander Bogaerts walk in free agency.
And then, when he feels the time is right to make a splash, he'll do that, as evidenced by his Red Sox signings of Masataka Yoshida and Trevor Story.
He'll also do what he can to uncover diamonds in the rough and he'll work to dominate the draft. I've seen his vision in its fun stages. I've seen the plan in its frustrating ones, and I'm here to tell you that it can work, but it's going to require something that not many people have: Patience.
What he said on Tuesday
After the trade was complete, Bloom met with the St. Louis media and has this to say, essentially proving my point from above.
Per The Athletic:
“To me, (this trade) is exactly consistent with everything I’ve been talking about for the past couple months,” Bloom said Tuesday afternoon in a videoconference. “We have somewhere we need to go. We’re not there now, and the way to get there is through building on our core of talent, and having promising young talent that can be with us for many years.
Why patience is needed
Bloom has the ability to build a good team, but the ownership in Boston didn't give him time to fully execute his vision.
The Red Sox made the playoffs in 2025, partially because of the foundation that he laid before being let at the end of the 2023 campaign. He drafted Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell and Roman Anthony, three tent poles of the organization moving forward. Campbell and Anthony have already been extended by his successor, Craig Breslow.
He also kept Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela, helping both develop. He traded for Wilyer Abreu, who is now a two-time Gold Glove winner.
He brought in Garrett Whitlock, one of the top relievers in the American League, via the Rule-5 Draft, and he drafted Kyle Teel and Chase Meidroth, who were used to acquire ace pitcher Garrett Crochet.
What happens now
Bloom will keep dealing, and it's quite possible that he sends away any or all of JoJo Romero, Nolan Arenado, Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson. It will be painful for fans, but the prospect haul could be significant, speeding up the recovery timeline.
Furthermore, he'll work to sign affordable veterans to one-year deals. The hope will be that these players play well in the first half, making a watchable product for the fans, and then they can be dealt for more young players at the trade deadline.
He'll also work to find young major league-ready players, like Richard Fitts, who can come in and help right away, laying the foundation for the next great Cardinals teams.
It might be a few years away, but the vision is clear.
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