Bloom disappointed with start, not panicking

BOSTON -- While any realist wouldn't have envisioned Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom presiding over a championship or even a first-place finish in the American League East in his first season, it also would have been hard to project things going this poorly through the first 24 games.

Bloom didn't sugarcoat his disappointment as he held court with reporters via Zoom prior to Wednesday's game against the Phillies -- his team in possession of a 6-18 record and a nine-game losing streak.

"It's extremely disappointing," said Bloom. "These are about as bad of results as you can possibly imagine. A lot of things have not gone well. That's just the fact of the matter. It's extremely disappointing. We're all competitive. We all like to win and we hate losing."

However, Bloom also knows that this is no time to get emotional and make rash decisions based on a small sample size in a shortened 60-game season.

"I think the worst thing we can do is panic," Bloom said. "I don't think anybody is doing that. I think it's important when you dissect what is happening so far as to try to separate some of the things underneath that are predictive, that are indicative, that are problems. There's different ways to do that.

"For instance, on the pitching side, there's certain things that may be mechanical that we can work on, there are certain things that have to do with approach and then there are certain things that just have to do with the noisiness of results in a season of any length. It's important as we look at it to make sure that we separate those things so that we're not attacking non-problems and so that we're all over problems we can do something about."

On the pitching side, it's quite clear that the Red Sox need some significant upgrades heading into next season, even though they should get two top pieces back in the starting rotation in Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez.

In some ways, the offense has actually been a bigger disappointment than the pitching thus far due to the expectation that the Red Sox's hitters could be elite. Instead, they carried a .730 OPS into Wednesday's game, which was slightly below league average. Key cogs Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez are both off to slow starts, and Andrew Benintendi's swing and stats (4-for-39) were almost unrecognizable before he sent on the injured list with a right rib-cage strain.

"Long term, I have no concern about those guys," Bloom said. "This happens. This is baseball. It stinks that it's happening the way it has right now. It stinks that it's been more widespread than you like, but it doesn't make me feel any differently about the talent level."

Twelve days remain until the Aug. 31 Trade Deadline. If anything, Bloom will likely be a seller to add some pieces to the farm system or perhaps some cost-controllable arms.

Martinez, center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and closer Brandon Workman are all eligible for free agency at the end of the season, meaning they could become attractive trade chips for a contender.

"I think regardless of where our record stood, it would always in a vacuum be our preference to be active," said Bloom. "When you are, it means you have opportunities to upgrade your organization and to advance your goals. You're always looking for those opportunities, in my opinion, regardless of where you stand.

"There are obviously a lot of factors this year with the Trade Deadline that are different. We have to be mindful of those factors. Within that, and making sure we're paying appropriate attention to everything that comes along with this unique season, we want to try to be active if we think there are things that are positive for the organization."

The idea of trading offensive studs like Xander Bogaerts and Devers, both of whom are under the club's control for a long time, doesn't sound as if it is appealing to Bloom.

"Those guys are core players for us and they're incredibly important to our future, just as they've been important here for a while," Bloom said. "As I said earlier, I think philosophically I don't like to think in terms of absolute no's, but those guys are key players for us and we're very hopeful they're going to be part of our next championship group."

As bad as the present feels and looks, Bloom is staying objective about his team going forward.

"I think in the big picture, despite this start, we know we have a very talented core," said Bloom. "We're trying to do this so we can sustain this, so that we can compete for championships every year for a long time. Everything that builds towards that goal, we have to consider regardless of what our record is right now."

Arroyo activated, Walden optioned
Six days after claiming infielder Christian Arroyo off waivers from the Indians, the Red Sox activated the former first-round selection in the 2013 Draft (Giants) for Wednesday's game.

To make room for Arroyo on the roster, the Red Sox optioned righty Marcus Walden to the alternate site.

Walden was a key piece to Boston's bullpen last season, but he has struggled mightily in 2020, giving up 14 hits and 12 earned runs in nine innings.

Arroyo has been unable to live up to his potential so far, hitting .215 with a .622 OPS in 71 Major League games.

Bradley, Vazquez back; J.D. still out
The Red Sox waited until nearly an hour before game time on Wednesday to release their starting lineup because they were waiting for injury updates on Christian Vázquez (right heel), Bradley (right wrist) and Martinez (dehydration and dizziness).

Bradley returned after being out of the lineup for three straight days. Vázquez was back after missing Tuesday's game and exiting early on Monday. Martinez, who left Tuesday's game in the bottom of the fifth inning, was out of the lineup.