NEW YORK -- As Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom stood in a corner of the visiting dugout at Yankee Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the countdown was T-minus two weeks to the Trade Deadline, which as been bumped up one day to July 30 for this season.
Unlike a year ago, when Bloom smartly sold off several veteran parts (Brandon Workman, Heath Hembree, Mitch Moreland, Kevin Pillar and Josh Osich) to fortify the farm system, he is getting ready for a much different endeavor in his second trade season running Boston’s front office.
At 56-36, the Red Sox entered the day trying to stave off Bloom’s former team -- the Rays -- who were just 1 1/2 games back in the American League East.
The standings serve as a reminder that as well as the Red Sox have done, reinforcements might still be necessary.
“It’s always more fun when you have a chance to win,” Bloom said of trade season. “In some ways it’s more complicated because you have a lot of different possibilities that you consider. We all work to be in this position. Every time you’re in this position it’s exciting.”
So even though the Red Sox figure to get a huge boost with the return of Chris Sale in August and they infused the clubhouse with talented youth this weekend by calling up No. 3 prospect Jarren Duran and No. 6 prospect Tanner Houck, Bloom will scour the market for every possible way to improve with external acquisitions.
“We talked about it,” said Bloom. “There are certain moves or types of moves that we’ve discussed where the fit is easier to see than other moves. But I think it’s really important in this situation to be open to a wide range of possibilities. With as much time left in the season as there is, there’s a lot of different ways things can go. If you walk past an opportunity to make yourself better, even if it might not be the most obvious fit, you may end up regretting that.”
In his time with the Rays, there were many times Bloom and his crew bought and others they sold and even some occasions when they did both at the same time.
Though Bloom would love to win the World Series this season, he won’t jeopardize the foundation to do so.
The balancing act can be difficult, but Bloom -- who dealt with every Trade Deadline scenario imaginable with the Rays -- seems to have a handle on it.
“It definitely makes things a little more complicated, but it’s exactly where you want to be,” Bloom said. “I think we need to go through this with a mindset of holding every possible move against that measuring stick of not just competing this year but being in championship contention every year. That might lead us to think about certain moves differently. I think at the end of the day it’s what we owe our fans.
“This year is a huge part of that. But so is every year beyond that. We just need to try to have a good process where we’re looking at every move through that lens of trying to do everything we can to bolster ourselves not just now but make sure we’re in a position to deliver this kind of baseball for years on end.”
Cora on clubhouse: ‘I know everybody’s excited’
Though the Red Sox have had a good clubhouse all season, manager Alex Cora can feel the excitement building even more this weekend with the addition of Houck and Duran, plus the somewhat imminent addition of Sale.
“I know everybody’s excited. What we saw yesterday with Tanner, that was eye-opening,” Cora said. “This guy’s going to help us win ballgames and he did already. With Jarren, everybody saw what he did in Spring Training. The fact that he adds speed is something that is good for us. It’s good for our lineup.”
Then there is Sale, who could be the most impactful of all in-season additions.
“Everybody knows what’s going on with Chris,” Cora said. “With Chris progressing the way he is, in that clubhouse, you can tell. When the conversation comes up, they’re looking forward to seeing that guy pitch whenever he’s going to pitch for us. He threw a bullpen today, everything went well. Everything is on point right now.”
Verdugo enjoys jawing with Stadium fans
For decades, the fans at Yankee Stadium have loved nothing more than taunting the Red Sox outfielders who stand in front of them. In Alex Verdugo, they’ve met their match. While some players might get annoyed by getting derided, Verdugo embraces it.
“I love it,” Verdugo said. “I think it’s hilarious. It’s obviously … being in Boston and coming over here, the Yankee fans let you have it. For me, it’s just funny. They do everything. They do some of the stuff that some of the times it’s disrespectful and you’re like, ‘Come on, man.’ And then other times it’s actually funny and playful trash talking.
“No matter what it is, I enjoy it. I laugh. I just take it for what it is and they’ll start chants of chanting my name and chanting trash talk and stuff like that, so I like when they all kind of get together and start ragging on me. It’s hilarious. I turn around and acknowledge it, but it’s something you come to expect. It kind of brings that extra adrenaline for those games.”