Sox deal Pillar, Osich to wrap active Deadline
BOSTON -- Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom completed his active trade season on Monday when he swung two more deals.
Bloom moved veteran outfielder Kevin Pillar and cash considerations to the Rockies for a player to be named or cash considerations and 2019-20 international slot money.
In addition, the Sox offloaded lefty reliever Josh Osich to the Cubs for a player to be named or cash considerations.
Players not in the 2020 player pool could only be dealt as a PTBNL. Red Sox general manager Brian O’Halloran said the club has a six-month window to announce who the players are.
RED SOX-ROCKIES TRADE
Red Sox get: 2019-20 international slot money, PTBNL or cash considerations
Rockies get: OF Kevin Pillar and cash considerations
RED SOX-CUBS TRADE
Red Sox get: PTBNL or cash considerations
Cubs get: LHP Josh Osich
“Every Trade Deadline is a little different. You're always looking for opportunities to better your organization,” Bloom said. “Our goal was to stay engaged with as many possibilities as we could so that we could take advantage of whatever opportunities we thought were out there, and we're pleased with the moves we were able to make.”
After falling out of contention quickly this season, Bloom made no secret that he would be in seller's mode up until Monday's 4 p.m. ET Trade Deadline.
On Aug. 21, the Sox traded closer Brandon Workman and setup man Heath Hembree to the Phillies for right-handed pitchers Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold.
Bloom dealt veteran leader Mitch Moreland to the Padres on Sunday for two Minor League prospects -- infielder Hudson Potts and outfielder Jeisson Rosario.
Two core players who were involved in their share of rumors leading up to the Deadline -- center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and catcher Christian Vázquez -- both remained with the Red Sox.
It was somewhat noteworthy Bradley didn’t get dealt, considering he is eligible for free agency this offseason. Does this mean the Red Sox are more likely to re-sign him?
“We love Jackie,” Bloom said. “That shouldn't be news. He's been here a long time, he means an enormous amount to this organization. We know he's a good player. We'd love to have him here for a long time. That was the case months ago, it was the case yesterday, the case today, the case tomorrow. I don't think there's anything to read into that today, but that shouldn't be news, it's how we've always felt about Jackie.”
Bloom was asked what the deciding factor is for a non-contending team to hold on to a player with an expiring contract.
“I think certainly when you’re in this situation that we’re in, and you have a player on an expiring contract, I think it’s easy to look at it and say, well, just turn this player into future value,” Bloom said. “I don’t think it’s ever that simple. I think there are things players bring to your team, to your organization, that go beyond just that value that you can put in a spreadsheet, and I think there are a lot of different things to balance with that.
“We’ve tried to balance all those considerations well, and so it’s hard to say that the same thing applies to every case. But it’s certainly something that’s on our mind. We care about our environment. We care about the atmosphere here. We care about having a competitive environment, something where players can grow through going out there every day looking to win, and that’s something we’re going to try to maintain, regardless of where we are in the standings.”
As for Vázquez, he is on a club-friendly deal that will pay him $6.25 million next season. The Red Sox hold a $7 million option on him for 2022. Logic says that the only way Vázquez would have been dealt is if the Red Sox could’ve acquired an impact pitcher in the deal.
“We have a lot of talented players on this club, and when you have that, you know there is going to be people who are interested,” Bloom said. “Our job again is to make sure we are assessing with a level head the opportunity that we have to set ourselves up over the long haul. We’re only going to make moves that we think accomplish those goals.”
While there isn’t much the Red Sox can do to salvage their disappointing ’20 season, Bloom will expend his energy into making sure the club regains its competitive footing for next season and beyond.
“We still have a ways to go,” Bloom said. “There’s a lot more that we want to do to put this organization on more sustainable footing. We also know we have a lot of talent in house, which is a great place to start. But in totality, I think we can look at the talent we brought into the organization, we can look at the sustainability of the roster, the depth of the talent base, and feel like we’re taking positive steps.”
With four weeks to go in the regular season, the Red Sox will try to finish strong with a solid core that still has Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez. Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez should be back to improve the pitching staff next season, and Bloom is sure to be active adding more arms.
“It’s our goal to be competitive every year. Again, we’ll see what we’re able to do between now and ’21,” Bloom said. “I think there’s a lot of things that didn’t go our way this year. That if we were to run back this year, we’d hope we see ourselves with a better slate of results. We know we have our work cut out for us. We have every intention of putting ourselves in that position. We need to continue that work to make sure we can do it.”