The Boston Red Sox announced Thursday they have fired chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. The team said principal owner John Henry, chairman Tom Werner, and president & CEO Sam Kennedy notified of Bloom of the decision to let him go.
In a statement, Henry said Bloom “set the stage for the future,” but that wasn’t enough to save his job; while President & CEO Sam Kennedy read from a prepared statement before his press conference: “The decision was not made lightly or easily. We all know where we are in the standings. It’s a painful reality that fans feel as deeply as we do. Our fans deserve a winning, competitive team that consistently plays postseason baseball.”
Bloom was hired by the team in October 2019 following a successful 15-year career with the Tampa Bay Rays, succeeding Dave Dombrowski. In his four seasons as chief baseball officer, Bloom helped develop the Boston farm system, including prospect Marcelo Mayer, the No. 4 overall pick in 2021 MLB Draft.
Under Bloom, the Red Sox made the ALCS in 2021 after winning 92 games in the regular season. However, the Red Sox haven’t had successful results on the field, with only that one playoff appearance during Bloom’s tenure. Overall, Boston was 267-262 with Bloom; they went 78-84 last season, and are going to miss the playoffs again this season, currently sitting 73-72, 7½ games behind the final wild card spot at the time of Bloom’s firing.
The team also announced general manager Brian O’Halloran was offered a new senior leadership position within the baseball operations department. O’Halloran will lead day-to-day operations alongside assistant general managers Eddie Romero, Raquel Ferreira, and Michael Groopman until a replacement for Bloom is found.
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