The Boston Red Sox have not come close to the vision of sustained success set by former chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and picked up by Craig Breslow.
After an unexpected playoff run that reached the American League Championship Series in 2021, expectations were high for 2022 and beyond. Bloom was hoping to build off his early success while still building up the farm system along the way.
However, his attempt to thread the needle between winning in the present and setting up the future resulted in back-to-back last-place finishes in the American League East.
For that reason, the Red Sox have stopped trying to make the big-league roster better and instead focused on 2025 and beyond. The change in direction has left some players who believed they were brought in to compete irritated -- and for good reason.
"I definitely feel frustrated," Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen said on the "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast. "I came here for two years where Year 1 we were going to compete but by Year 2 they were really going to go for it... They have a different vision now. I get it. It's part of the business but at the same time I have one more year left here and I'm going to give the fans the best that I have."
Jansen left out a key point, Boston has elected to throw away his ages 35 and 36 seasons after acting like this offseason was going to be the one where they go all-in.
Instead, the Red Sox seem to be waiting until they have the best farm system of all time -- and then they'll probably wait a few more years until those teenagers reach the big leagues.
Players who signed here after being told the team was going to attempt to put a competitive product on the field during their tenures deserve to be livid after a silent offseason.
More must-reads: