Chaim Bloom had to wait two full seasons to make his first impactful move as the head of the St. Louis Cardinals‘ front office, and he couldn’t have picked a more ironic trade partner.
On Tuesday, Bloom traded three-time All-Star pitcher Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox, who dismissed him at the end of the 2023 season after three seasons as chief baseball officer. Since his departure, the Red Sox have become a playoff team, due in no small part to the core of young talent Bloom drafted, signed, and acquired through trades.
Was it awkward trading with the Red Sox and successor Craig Breslow? Bloom was refreshingly candid in his response to that question on Tuesday.
Bloom on trading with his old team
Nov 13, 2019; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom speaks with members of the media during general managers meetings at the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
“There were different conversations with different people in both organizations that led to this outcome,” Bloom said, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “It was a little strange, obviously, but at the end of the day, that doesn’t really impact things. We’re trying to do the best we can for our club no matter who it’s with.
“It shouldn’t matter where I worked last or anything other than what’s best for the St. Louis Cardinals. I know they’re trying to accomplish something themselves, too. We each had some different objectives we were looking to accomplish and we were able to match up.”
If he wanted to, Bloom could spend eternity complaining about how the Red Sox gave him a raw deal, since his hiring essentially came with the mandate to trade arguably the best player the franchise has had this century, Mookie Betts. But he’s a Cardinal now, and nothing that happened during his time in Boston is material to St. Louis fans hoping their favorite team can soon be restored to prominence.
In Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke, Bloom got two pitchers who could have long, productive Cardinals careers, which was a wise move facilitated by his willingness to eat roughly half of the money on Gray’s contract.
And Bloom wasn’t in Boston when either Fitts and Clarke came to the Red Sox, so one can’t even accuse him of making the “comfortable” trade or playing favorites.
More MLB: What Cardinals’ Sonny Gray Trade Could Mean For Willson Contreras: Insider