Hernandez deal indicative of Bloom viewing Red Sox as buyers or sellers?
Chaim Bloom may be able to be viewed as a seller while still improving his major league club.
The Red Sox dipped their toe in the trade deadline pool for the first time on Tuesday. They traded Kike Hernandez to his former team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, for two minor league pitchers.
What does this trade signal to us about the mentality of Chaim Bloom and the Red Sox heading up to the trade deadline on August 1? After the Red Sox 6-1 victory Tuesday night against the powerhouse Atlanta Braves, the Red Sox stand at 54-47, eight games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East. Most importantly, they are only 1.5 games out of the final wildcard spot. Right now, the wildcard spots belong to Tampa Bay, Houston, and Toronto. New York, the LA Angels, Seattle, and Cleveland are all within four games of the Red Sox.
It is a crowded bunch. If a couple of teams get hot, the whole wildcard picture can change in a week. For that reason, I wrote a few days ago the Red Sox should be sellers at the trade deadline. Their success to this point has been a bit of a mirage. It is a credit to Alex Cora and the depth of the minor league system that the team is seven games over .500. It is not sustainable and even though the Red Sox may sneak into the playoffs this year, they are not built to win it all... yet.
Can Jarren Duran continue his spark plug play? Highly doubtful based on his track record. Can the pitching staff keep getting away with only having three legit starters? I can’t remember it ever having been done. Will Trevor Story and Chris Sale provide a jolt for the Sox in the second half? Maybe for a short time, but their injury history makes it doubtful they will survive even the final two months. Can James Paxton continue his resurgent season? I think he can remain effective as long as he is healthy, but health is always a concern with Paxton.
So does this Kike trade mean Bloom feels the same way - that whatever happens this year is a bonus, but the plan is to be competitive in 2024 and beyond? Or is it indicative that Bloom may try to walk the tightrope between buying and selling like he did last year when he traded for Eric Hosmer, but traded away Christian Vazquez? Trading Kike could be viewed as being a seller, but acquiring two bullpen arms that could help in September could be viewed as being a buyer.
The bloom has fallen off the rose the last couple of years, but could it be that Chaim is establishing himself and that his vision is now, at long last, becoming clear to fans? While short-sighted fans may be clamoring for Shohei Ohtani, Bloom continues to be patient and build the franchise around Duran, Casas, Mayer, Rafaela, and Bello.
It is a credit to Bloom that he got anything for Gonzalez. There was talk that Gonzalez may be outright released when Story rejoined the team. In the end, Bloom got a great return on Gonzalez. Nick Robertson and Justin Hagenman are two imposing right handers who have had good track records in the minor leagues. Robertson has even had a whiff of the majors with the Dodgers.
Robertson is listed at 6’6” and 265 pounds. That is Kenley Jansen-esque (Jansen is listed as 6'5", 265 pounds). Robertson's minor league stats indicate that he is a strikeout pitcher who has been used to close out games (21 career minor league saves). The 25-year-old could project to be a leverage right-hander in late inning situations.
Hagenman appears to be more of a control pitcher. His control has improved every year in the minors (11 BB in 55 IP this year at AAA). While not as much a strikeout pitcher as Robertson, the 26-year-old has still averaged a strikeout per inning in the minors. Bloom seemed to suggest that Hagenman could be stretched out as a starter or as a bulk guy. The Red Sox, as mentioned earlier, are hurting for pitchers who can give them length.
Bloom was smart to shop Hernandez to a team who understood his potential value. Kike played six seasons with the Dodgers. Other teams may look at Hernandez’ stats and see them on face value and not be very impressed. The Dodgers understand his clubhouse value and his defensive skills value in the outfield. Cora stubbornly played Gonzalez out of position at shortstop all season, where he committed 14 throwing errors.
With the pending return of Story, Sale, Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, and to lesser extents Reese McGuire and Corey Kluber, Bloom may be in an enviable position to sell off assets for prospects while allowing the Red Sox to strengthen itself down the homestretch.