Adam Duvall's trip to the DL ( It’s the DL people ) has sent a wake up call through Red Sox Nation. Yes, in just the second week of the 2023 season a single injury to their starting center fielder has exposed the Red Sox fans to the facts that have been in evidence since his arrival in Boston. Chaim Bloom can’t build a major league roster. Tear one apart for sure. But build one? Yea no. .
A complete lack of depth on the major league roster and a cupboard righty hitting bare in the home of his favorite child (The Farm System) has cast a spotlight on Bloom from across MLB and the fans of the Sox are mad as hell.
In an off season that saw once again more goings than coming in the all star department Bloom has shown the Sox were unprepared for this or any injury to its starting nine. While most of us were worried about what would happen if Chris Sale went down again, the majority of the Red Sox nation was deaf to the topic… What happens if an every day player goes down ?
There were options out there all winter long. I pointed out when we heard Trevor Story was headed for the surgeons table back in January that the Sox needed to make moves to bring in quality depth up the middle. Josh Harrison was atop my list of depth moves that Bloom should be bringing in, along with Elvis Andrus and old friend Jose Iglesias. These please fell on deaf ears. And he traded for the often injured Adalberto Mondesi. A player he knew would not be ready to open the season. Just Brilliance.
And here we are. Adam Duvall goes down for an extended period of time and the first move you make is to call up the first baseman who couldn't make the cut coming out of spring training? There was no one in the system to bring up who had actually played the outfield. Bloom's major league roster is too left-handed to call up Jarren Duran. There is no one healthy enough or talented enough to go to Short every day and allow Kike Hernandez to move back to his natural habitat of Center. One Injury ? One trip to the DL. By One Starter. Has left Alex Cora in to in his words.
“With the way we’re going to do it now, we have to mix and match and try to maximize the whole roster,”
Mix and Match. Well let me tell you something. It's hard to match when you don't have any ingredients to add to the mix. I Like Rob Refsnyder, I think Raimel Tapia is a fine bench guy. And you know how I feel about Hernandez. All three will see time in centerfield during these dark days. Yu Chang is a great option to have when someone needs a day off or three to heal an issue. But it's become abundantly clear. Bloom was unprepared for anything to happen to the ship he helms.
As always you can follow / give me grief on Twitter @Tmurph207