With a last-minute stunner, a trade that sent Hunter Renfroe to Milwaukee for the return of Jackie Bradley Jr. late Wednesday night right at the death of the now-expired collective bargaining agreement, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom left everyone with a wild cliffhanger.
What does it all mean? How does Bradley fit? What’s the plan, and where do they go from here?
Those questions will be left unanswered for months after Major League Baseball officially instituted a lockout just after midnight Thursday morning. Transactions are now frozen until a new CBA is agreed to, meaning Bloom’s next move — and what he’s really thinking — likely won’t come until at least February.
It’s important to note that the trade wasn’t simply a Renfroe-for-Bradley swap. The Red Sox received two prospects in the deal — third baseman Alex Binelas and shortstop David Hamilton — who ranked highly in the Brewers’ farm system, and the real value of this trade will probably hinge on them.
But of course, neither prospect will likely help them in 2022. The trade presents the Red Sox with some clear needs when the work stoppage is over.
Bradley represents a clear defensive upgrade in the outfield over Renfroe. Though both were Gold Glove finalists this season, Renfroe, for all of his highlight-reel throws, was often a liability, leading the league in errors and finished the season with -1 defensive runs saved. Bradley had 12 DRS.
Where the Red Sox will need to make up ground is Renfroe’s offensive production. He belted 31 homers and 96 RBI with an .816 OPS as a fixture in the middle of Boston’s lineup, while Bradley struggled through one of the worst offensive seasons in the last 40 years, finishing with a .497 OPS in 428 plate appearances. Bloom is hopeful that a return to Boston will help him get back on track at the plate, but it can’t be counted on. It’s almost a lock that he’ll look for a bat to make up for the right-handed Renfroe’s loss.
“I do still think we have room to add position players to this crew,” Bloom said. “Obviously, swapping Hunter for Jackie does change the handedness of our group a little bit. So, maybe the dial moves a little more toward a right-handed bat, where before it might have been more toward a left-handed bat.”
Before the trade, it seemed more likely that the Red Sox would pursue the left-handed Kyle Schwarber, who was one of their best offensive performers after last season’s trade deadline acquisition. But as Bloom noted, a right-handed bat may be more of a priority now. And without the certainty of Bradley’s role, it makes sense they would target another corner outfielder with that profile.
Or, maybe the Red Sox would look for a big splash to fill that offensive void. Shortstop Carlos Correa is still a free agent, is a favorite of Alex Cora’s and has reported interest from the Red Sox. That would likely force Xander Bogaerts to second base, but would significantly boost their offense and defense.
“There’s different ways it can come together with the versatility and flexibility that we have,” Bloom said. “So we’re going to keep looking to supplement.”
Bloom will also look to add more pitching after adding three starters in Michael Wacha, James Paxton and Rich Hill. As it stands, the Red Sox’ starting mix includes Chris Sale, Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck, Wacha and Hill, with Paxton unavailable until the second half as he recovers from Tommy John surgery and the possibility of Garrett Whitlock shifting to the rotation. Bloom may be done adding starters, but it’s not out of the question that he adds another.
“It’s never a bad thing to have too much starting pitching,” Bloom said. “It’s probably impossible to have too much starting pitching, quite frankly. I’m sure it will all work itself out.”
The Red Sox will certainly look to add relief pitching, which Bloom confirmed Wednesday. With Adam Ottavino and Hansel Robles gone to free agency and Matt Barnes coming off a disastrous second half in 2021, getting a high-leverage arm should be a necessity once the lockout concludes.
“We’ve got some guys who could fill multiple roles, but as far as short relievers that’s something we have yet to address in meaningful fashion, and we’re going to continue to look at doing that,” Bloom said.
It may take months, but Bloom certainly isn’t done yet in his goal to construct a roster for 2022 and beyond.
“I think the key for us is to use our resources as best we can,” Bloom said. “And we want to make sure that we’re making what in our mind are good deals. Those can be small deals or they can be big deals. But we want to make sure that anything we put ourselves in, that we line up on good deals and that anything that we find that we think is a good use of our resources, that we think propels us towards winning. Whether it’s this year, in the years ahead, we want to be in a good position to take advantage of. …
“These are the moves that we lined up on but we have stayed in touch with the entire field, a lot of different guys that interest us. I’d expect we’ll continue to do that going forward.”
