The Boston Red Sox ushered in a new wave of leadership when they hired chief baseball officer Craig Breslow following back-to-back last-place finishes in the American League East.
While everyone is focused on what moves the new guy will make -- so far, nothing to write home about -- his predecessor is working with a new team to poach players from Boston.
"Partially on the advice of new advisor Chaim Bloom, formerly the baseball boss in Boston, the Cards plucked Ryan Fernandez out of the Rule 5 Draft and then landed Nick Robertson and Victor Santos in a trade for Tyler O’Neill -- all of them coming over from the Red Sox," MLB.com's John Denton wrote Monday.
Bloom officially joined St. Louis on Jan. 8 but according to Denton, his work as the Cardinals advisor to the president of baseball operations started months earlier.
Fernandez's loss could be the biggest hit, as the Red Sox received nothing in return, unlike the additions of Robertson and Santos.
The 25-year-old posted a 1.77 ERA in 20 1/3 innings for Double-A Portland while showing an upper-90s fastball and strong overall pitch mix. Things unraveled upon his promotion to Triple-A Worcester, where he struggled immensely.
The right-hander posted a 6.16 ERA in 30 2/3 innings for the WooSox due to inflated contact rates and an overall drastic increase in baserunners allowed.
Bloom was wise to take a shot on a reliever that carries such potential but he's likely to return to the Red Sox organization as he appears far from ready to contribute at the big-league level -- which he would need to do for the Cardinals to retain him.
Robertson and Santos are both Bloom guys who were brought into the Red Sox organization via trade during his tenure. The former has the highest potential and could become an established big leaguer but the acquisition of O'Neill was worth the risk given Boston's need for a right-handed outfielder at the time.
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