First time starting a thread, so I hope this turns out to be useful. Reading through other conversations there's a lot of back and forth about how Bloom is at making trades. I figured it would be good to put together a thread where we can discuss his trades so far, and have a conversation on how he's performing with a complete picture, and not just citing one trade or another. Below is a list of deals he's made that have had signifigant impact on the ballclub. I've included some of my thoughts by each trade below. In addition, I've graded it out and given what my final grade is for now. Feel free to disagree. My overall ranking is when Bloom hits, he really hits, but when he misses, he misses huge. My overall grade is a C-, he's had more misses than hits, and not alot of in between to speak of. I left off the Moreland trade because neither Mitch or the prospects we got amounted to much post trade.
2022:
Grade: D - Groome was the best prospect of the bunch, currently rated the Pads #12 best prospect after putting up a solid 2022 in AAA. Rosier and Ferguson are mostly just fodder, Ferguson is ranked #58 on SoxProspects. Hosmer who was acquired to fill the gaping hole at first, didn't really do anything. Yes, we got him for free basically, but he put up a .244/.320/.641 in his 14 games, and we continued our slide. Groome looks like he may be a big leaguer, if he does and Rosier or Ferguson don't do anything (likely), then this grade could get worse. If Groome doesn't make it then this is a big nothingburger as a trade.
Grade incomplete: Hard to judge until we know the TBD, but Pham....wasn't good with the Sox (.234/.298/.672), and put up a -.4 WAR.
Grade: A - Diekman was bad with the Sox, pitching to a 1.478 whip and a 4.96 fip, amazingly he was even worse for the White Sox. McGuire was excellent for Boston last year (.337/.377/.877 1.1WAR), he also has 3 years of control left. This is exactly what you're looking for out of your GM, trading an overvalued reliver for an undervalued position player. Even if McGuire slides back to be just an average catcher, this is still an excellent trade.
Grade: B - Vazquez was having a stong season (.282/.327/.759) and had been a strong catcher in MLB for 3 years running. However, he was going to be a FA, and it made sense to build the minor league depth. Valdez could be a real prize here. He's currently #17 on Sox Prospects and can really kill the ball. However, he didn't perform as well when he moved to the more pitcher friendly Eastern League, slashing .313/.422/.734 in Wocester. Abreu also has some potential, Sox Prospects have him at #26, so somethign to keep an eye on. He OPS'd a respectable .784 in Portland last year . I'm bullish on Valdez though which is why this grade is high, but if he and Abreu flame out and don't ever make it up, this grade could fall.
2021:
Grade: F - Just a horrible miss by Bloom on this one. It's been talked about extensively on this site, but you'd be hard pressed to find someone to call this anything other than a disaster. It left a gaping hole in the OF which we never filled. Renfroe slashed .255/.315/.807 for the Brewers while JBJ was horrific for us (.210/.257/.578) before being released. The two prospects we got back are fringe prospects ranked #31 (Hamilton) and #36 (Binelas) in the Sox system. Bloom got fleeced on this one.
Grade: A - Schwarber was phenomenal for us down the stretch in 21, going .291/.435/.957(!) to help carry us into the playoffs. Ramierez is currnely a middling prospect for #Natstown sitting at #19 on the prospect list.
Grade: D - All the prospects have flamed out, neither Valdez or Gambrell is in the top 60 for Sox Prospects and Lee fell off the cliff and isn't in the Mets top 30 for prospects. Really this comes down to Benny for Cordero and Winckowski. Benny had a strong year, albeit with little power, thwoing up a 3.2WAR between the Royals and Yanks. Cordero and Winchowski threw up a -.5 WAR between the two of them. Franchy has been DFA'd and Winny
looks like bullpen fodder. Not the return you're hoping for when you trade a borderline All Star. Only reason this isn't an F is because Winchowski could be a useful MLB player.
2020:
Grade: A - Getting Pivetta, who while not a great starter is a solid #5 innings eater who put up 180 IP last season with a 4.42 whip. Seabold looks like a potential #5 or long reliever in Boston. He struggled on the big league level last year (11.29 ERA, yikes, but a 6.32 fip.. I'm looking for a silver lining), but had a 3.32 ERA in AAA and shouldn't be dismissed as a potential contributor for the big club this year. Workman and Hembree were both horrible for Philly. Workman had a 6.96 fip and is out of the league. Hembree had a 13.05 fip and is on his 6th org in the last two years. Excellent fleecing by Bloom here.
Grade: F - This has been beaten to death, brought to life 3x and beaten to death each time again, so I want go deep on this. In the end they traded a generational talent in Mookie Betts for Alex Verdugo, a backup catcher and salary relief. Was the front office in bad shape with the payroll? Yes, but do the Boston Red Sox make money hand over fist vs. most MLB clubs? Also, yes. Price for what it's worth has been 1.3 WAR on the positive side the last two years, and the prize prospect (Downs) has been DFA'd.
2022:
| Aug 2 | |
| BOSTON ACQUIRES Eric Hosmer (1B) ($7,032,960)Corey Rosier (OF)Max Ferguson (2B)cash considerations | SAN DIEGO ACQUIRES Jason Groome (SP) |
Grade: D - Groome was the best prospect of the bunch, currently rated the Pads #12 best prospect after putting up a solid 2022 in AAA. Rosier and Ferguson are mostly just fodder, Ferguson is ranked #58 on SoxProspects. Hosmer who was acquired to fill the gaping hole at first, didn't really do anything. Yes, we got him for free basically, but he put up a .244/.320/.641 in his 14 games, and we continued our slide. Groome looks like he may be a big leaguer, if he does and Rosier or Ferguson don't do anything (likely), then this grade could get worse. If Groome doesn't make it then this is a big nothingburger as a trade.
| Aug 1 | |
| BOSTON ACQUIRES Tommy Pham (LF) ($6,000,000) | CINCINNATI ACQUIRES TBD |
Grade incomplete: Hard to judge until we know the TBD, but Pham....wasn't good with the Sox (.234/.298/.672), and put up a -.4 WAR.
| Aug 1 | |
| BOSTON ACQUIRES Reese McGuire (C) ($722,400)2.57 | CHICAGO ACQUIRES Jake Diekman (RP) ($1,230,784) |
Grade: A - Diekman was bad with the Sox, pitching to a 1.478 whip and a 4.96 fip, amazingly he was even worse for the White Sox. McGuire was excellent for Boston last year (.337/.377/.877 1.1WAR), he also has 3 years of control left. This is exactly what you're looking for out of your GM, trading an overvalued reliver for an undervalued position player. Even if McGuire slides back to be just an average catcher, this is still an excellent trade.
| Aug 1 | |
| BOSTON ACQUIRES Enmanuel Valdez (2B)Wilyer Abreu (OF) | HOUSTON ACQUIRES Christian Vazquez (C) ($7,000,000) |
Grade: B - Vazquez was having a stong season (.282/.327/.759) and had been a strong catcher in MLB for 3 years running. However, he was going to be a FA, and it made sense to build the minor league depth. Valdez could be a real prize here. He's currently #17 on Sox Prospects and can really kill the ball. However, he didn't perform as well when he moved to the more pitcher friendly Eastern League, slashing .313/.422/.734 in Wocester. Abreu also has some potential, Sox Prospects have him at #26, so somethign to keep an eye on. He OPS'd a respectable .784 in Portland last year . I'm bullish on Valdez though which is why this grade is high, but if he and Abreu flame out and don't ever make it up, this grade could fall.
2021:
| Dec 1 | |
| BOSTON ACQUIRES Jackie Bradley Jr. (CF)David Hamilton (SS)Alex Binelas (3B) | MILWAUKEE ACQUIRES Hunter Renfroe (RF) |
Grade: F - Just a horrible miss by Bloom on this one. It's been talked about extensively on this site, but you'd be hard pressed to find someone to call this anything other than a disaster. It left a gaping hole in the OF which we never filled. Renfroe slashed .255/.315/.807 for the Brewers while JBJ was horrific for us (.210/.257/.578) before being released. The two prospects we got back are fringe prospects ranked #31 (Hamilton) and #36 (Binelas) in the Sox system. Bloom got fleeced on this one.
| Jul 29 | |
| BOSTON ACQUIRES Kyle Schwarber (LF) ($2,446,210) | WASHINGTON ACQUIRES Aldo Ramirez (P) |
Grade: A - Schwarber was phenomenal for us down the stretch in 21, going .291/.435/.957(!) to help carry us into the playoffs. Ramierez is currnely a middling prospect for #Natstown sitting at #19 on the prospect list.
| Feb 10 | ||
| BOSTON ACQUIRES Franchy Cordero (1B)Josh Winckowski (SP)Freddy Valdez (OF)Grant Gambrell (P)Luis De La Rosa () | KANSAS CITY ACQUIRES Andrew Benintendi (LF) ($6,600,000) | NEW YORK ACQUIRES Khalil Lee (CF) |
Grade: D - All the prospects have flamed out, neither Valdez or Gambrell is in the top 60 for Sox Prospects and Lee fell off the cliff and isn't in the Mets top 30 for prospects. Really this comes down to Benny for Cordero and Winckowski. Benny had a strong year, albeit with little power, thwoing up a 3.2WAR between the Royals and Yanks. Cordero and Winchowski threw up a -.5 WAR between the two of them. Franchy has been DFA'd and Winny
looks like bullpen fodder. Not the return you're hoping for when you trade a borderline All Star. Only reason this isn't an F is because Winchowski could be a useful MLB player.
2020:
| Aug 22 | |
| BOSTON ACQUIRES Nick Pivetta (SP) Connor Seabold | PHILADELPHIA ACQUIRES Brandon Workman (RP) ($715,865)Heath Hembree (RP) ($229,818) |
Grade: A - Getting Pivetta, who while not a great starter is a solid #5 innings eater who put up 180 IP last season with a 4.42 whip. Seabold looks like a potential #5 or long reliever in Boston. He struggled on the big league level last year (11.29 ERA, yikes, but a 6.32 fip.. I'm looking for a silver lining), but had a 3.32 ERA in AAA and shouldn't be dismissed as a potential contributor for the big club this year. Workman and Hembree were both horrible for Philly. Workman had a 6.96 fip and is out of the league. Hembree had a 13.05 fip and is on his 6th org in the last two years. Excellent fleecing by Bloom here.
| Feb 9 | |
| BOSTON ACQUIRES Alex Verdugo (LF)Jeter Downs (SS)Connor Wong (C) | LOS ANGELES ACQUIRES Mookie Betts (RF) ($27,000,000)David Price (SP) ($16,000,000) |
Grade: F - This has been beaten to death, brought to life 3x and beaten to death each time again, so I want go deep on this. In the end they traded a generational talent in Mookie Betts for Alex Verdugo, a backup catcher and salary relief. Was the front office in bad shape with the payroll? Yes, but do the Boston Red Sox make money hand over fist vs. most MLB clubs? Also, yes. Price for what it's worth has been 1.3 WAR on the positive side the last two years, and the prize prospect (Downs) has been DFA'd.
