John Henry Is The Red Sox Real Problem

Recently, the Boston Red Sox fired Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom after nearly four seasons running Boston’s baseball operation. It was unsurprising given that Boston had finished in last place three times in the past four seasons. While Bloom is ultimately responsible for Boston’s failures, owners John Henry and Fenway Sports Group have created a lot of issues in the organization. One big issue that the Sox ownership has is that it can’t stick to an organizational approach. In recent years, nobody who’s run the Red Sox baseball operation has lasted longer than five years. The Red Sox’s real problem is John Henry and Fenway Sports Group.

Flip-Flopping On Team Building Philosophies Every Five Years

Since Theo Epstein departed the Red Sox for the final time, nobody has run Boston’s baseball operation longer than five years. Chaim Bloom’s predecessors Ben Cherington and Dave Dombrowski all won Championships in 2013 and 2018 respectively. Like Bloom, Cherington believed in having a strong minor league system with free agents to complement a core. Under his watch, the Sox developed solid contributors in Will Middlebrooks, Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Jose Iglesias, and Xander Bogaerts.

Dave Dombrowski liked to spend lots of money in free agency and trade for established veteran players to win right away. This includes trading away promising younger players in the farm system to get those experienced players. These are two very different styles of building a Major League roster. Dombrowski and Cherington would both be fired within a year or two of winning a championship. Dombrowski was just one year removed from building a World Series championship team when he got axed.

Henry Failed To Truly Understand The Rays Way

Chaim Bloom had a much more challenging set of circumstances than his predecessors. He was forced to trade Mookie Betts, manager Alex Cora was suspended for the season, COVID-19 happened, and Fenway Sports Group decided to not give Bloom a lot of money to spend. Making matters worse, the pandemic canceled the entire minor league baseball season further damaging Chaim Bloom’s plan. Henry wanted the team built the same way the division rival Tampa Bay Rays are constructed. However, he failed to understand the patience that it would require to build a team this way. In a way, Bloom was set up to fail.

John Henry Is Only Hurting The Franchise At This Point

John Henry has gained a reputation for being a mercurial owner. He doesn’t understand that just because a team wins a championship doesn’t mean it’ll be a dynasty. There are going to be years where a GM is going to need time to build a new winner. He needs to trust that the person he has running baseball operations can build another winner. In sports, continuity in the front office is everything, Henry has failed to understand that despite owning baseball teams for over 25 years. It’s why we’ve seen the Red Sox go from first to worst multiple times over the years.

John Henry And Fenway Sports Group Need To Look At Themselves

Fenway Sports Group needs to figure out how they want to build their teams. Switching their team-building philosophy every five years is only going to continue to hurt the franchise. The Sox are just now starting to suffer from not having continuity for longer than five years. While Chaim Bloom’s tenure was mostly a disaster, it is the Red Sox ownership that is creating problems for the baseball operation. Before John Henry hires a new baseball operations head, he and his ownership group should look in the mirror and figure out how they can be better.

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Featured Image by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images