BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 15: Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom looks on during a press conference addressing the departure of Alex Cora as manager of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on January 15, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. A MLB investigation concluded that Cora was involved in the Houston Astros sign stealing operation in 2017 while he was the bench coach. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Sitting at 73-72, seven and half games out of a Wild Card spot with 17 games left to play in the 2023 season, the Boston Red Sox are making a change. On Thursday morning, the team announced it is “parted ways” with Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom.
“While parting ways is not taken lightly, today signals a new direction for our club,” Principal Owner John Henry said in a statement from the team. “Our organization has significant expectations on the field and while Chaim’s efforts in revitalizing our baseball infrastructure have helped set the stage for the future, we will today begin a search for new leadership. Everyone who knows Chaim has a deep appreciation and respect for the kind of person he is. His time with us will always be marked by his professionalism, integrity, and an unwavering respect for our club and its legacy.”
The team announced that with Bloom no longer with the club, general manager Brian O’Halloran has been “offered a new senior leadership position within the baseball operations department.” Assistant General Managers Eddie Romero, Raquel Ferreira, and Michael Groopman are also mentioned in the statement, with the team saying a search for a replacement will “begin immediately.”
Bloom was first hired by the Red Sox following the 2019 season to replace Dave Dombrowski, after spending 15 years with the Tampa Bay Rays. Under Bloom’s leadership the Red Sox went 267-262 (50.5%). In three-plus seasons they made the playoffs once, turning a Wild Card bit into an ALCS appearance in 2021. The team finished in last place in Bloom’s other two complete seasons, and is tied with the Yankees for last place as of Thursday.
Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.
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The best of Jarren Duran's 2023 season
Even with all the ups and downs of the 2023 Red Sox, there’s no denying that this season was a massive success for Jarren Duran.
It was unfortunately cut short on August 23rd, when he suffered turf toe climbing the left field wall at Yankee Stadium on a Gleybar Torres homer. At first, the injury seemed like nothing but a bruise as the team flew to Houston without any reinforcements, but when he landed in a walking boot 24 hours later it was pretty telling.
Heading into this season, Duran’s stock had never been lower. He had failed to establish himself as a big leaguer in back-to-back seasons, with 2022 including some ugly maturity moments for the outfielder.
First against the Blue Jays in a 28-5 beatdown on July 22nd, where he lost a Raimel Tapia flyball in the lights that led to a little league grand slam. He didn’t exactly chase after the ball either, which had many hot take artists questioning his work ethic and mentality. It only got worse when he was beefing with a Royals fan at Kauffman Stadium a few weeks later in the midst of even more defensive struggles.
There was no denying that the ups and downs of being a young ballplayer in Boston were weighing on him, and he revealed it in a powerful piece about his mental health with Chris Cotillo exactly a year ago. He’d spend almost all of September at Triple-A after being demoted, before embarking on an offseason full of stance adjustments and spending time with family and friends in California. That set the stage for a different version of Duran to show up at spring training in 2023.
While the signing of Adam Duvall left the Red Sox without an obvious spot for Duran on the 2023 roster, Chaim Bloom reiterated throughout spring training that the organization still had a ton of confidence in him. Duran flashed a new opposite-field approach down in Fort. Myers before leaving for the World Baseball Classic and Team Mexico, which seemed to stall some of the hype starting to build behind him again. Despite not making the Opening Day roster, everything changed on April 17th when he was recalled to help with the loss of Duvall.
From that point forward until suffering his season-ending injury, Duran finally showed why he was ranked the 29th best prospect in the sport by Baseball America in July 0f 2021. He slashed .295/.346/.486/.828 with 8 homers, 34 doubles, and 24 stolen bases in 26 attempts. Not to mention, significantly improved defense between center field and left field, as he finished in the 56th percentile for Outs Above Average and 98th percentile for Outfield Jump.
Before landing on the IL, Duran was working through some mental health struggles once again, but the team acted quickly to offer him support and try to avoid some of the pitfalls he experienced in 2022. Still, Duran continued to be available and seemed to be working out of a recent funk before going down. Losing him for any stretch was a tough blow to the 2023 Red Sox, but for the rest of the season is nothing short of brutal for an offense that has struggled with consistency.
So, let’s take a look at some of his best moments from the 2023 season and what the Red Sox will be missing down the stretch.
