Even before much chatter could be generated about the job security of Chaim Bloom and Alex Cora, the Red Sox took the topic off the table Monday.
Team president and CEO Sam Kennedy told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal that both would return for next season.
"I am very comfortable saying Chaim and Alex will be back,'' Kennedy said. "And I am very comfortable saying there is a strong belief in the direction of the franchise from our ownership group. That direction is continuing to build for the future, but also continuing to invest at the major league level.''
That ends that drama, with five weeks remaining in the 2022 season.
Actually, there was never much talk about Cora's job being in jeopardy. The 2022 Red Sox have been doomed by a spate of injuries at the end of June and in early July which sidetracked their season, and Cora has had to deal with a roster that has featured some serious shortcomings. It was inconceivable that Cora, who has taken the Red Sox to the postseason in two of his first three seasons managing the Sox, would be in trouble.
Bloom, however, was at least somewhat on the hot seat. Several of his offseason moves backfired. A trade that sent Hunter Renfroe to Milwaukee for Jackie Bradley Jr. and two prospects has fizzled, with Bradley getting his release earlier this month. A couple of free agent bullpen signings backfired, and Bloom failed to provide viable depth options at first base and right field.
Publicly guaranteeing that Bloom would remain on the job was the right call. Much of the blame for the 2022 season can be laid at his feet, and ultimately, top baseball executives are responsible when their teams underachieve.
But Bloom deserves additional time to get it right here. Hired in late October of 2019, his first season was torpedoed by MLB's suspending Cora, forcing Bloom into an unexpected manager search. Next came a pandemic-shortened season that saw Sox finish last.
The Sox rebounded in a big way in 2021, qualifying for the postseason on the final day of the season before knocking off both the Yankees in the wild-card game and the division-winning Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS before falling to the Houston Astros in the ALCS.
This season has veered off the tracks in the last two months and the Sox sit eight games out of the final wild-card spot with just 34 games remaining. They're not officially eliminated from contentions, but they might as well be.
Bloom, however, has a huge off-season to-do list, which will determine his future in Boston. First, he must decide what to do with Xander Bogaerts, who has the ability to opt out of his current deal. Then, he must immediately address the franchise's best player, Rafael Devers, who is eligible for free agency after 2023.
When all of that is done. Bloom must rebuild a starting rotation, improve the bullpen and fill openings that could occur with about a half-dozen players heading for free agency.
Firing Bloom after just three seasons would send the wrong message. Red Sox ownership already is gaining a reputation for being too impatient. The next chief baseball executive will be the fifth to run the Red Sox since 2011. That kind of turnover isn't good for anybody.
Already, the Red Sox demoted Ben Cherington less than two years he steered the team to a 2013 championship. Then, they fired his replacement, Dave Dombrowski, less than 11 months after he won a World Series.
Punting Bloom would have made the Red Sox a toxic team in the industry. Just try to hire a qualified replacement after you've cycled through three different executives in a 10-year span. No accomplished baseman man would come within a mile of that job.
Remember when the New York Mets couldn't even get applicants to interview to become their top baseball executive? The same fate would have befallen the Red Sox if Bloom was let go after just three years.
Ownership hired Bloom and tasked him with both rebuilding the farm system and competing at the major league level. Bloom has done well with the former, while reaching the postseason just once in three years. That has to change.
But he also needs additional time to see some of his draft picks and international free agent signings to contribute. That, too, takes longer than three years.
The fact that Kennedy was even asked the question about Bloom's job security -- and further, decided to respond publicly -- speaks volumes. The clock is ticking, and Bloom surely understands that.
He has a lot to do this winter, not the least of which is determine the futures of two of the team's biggest stars. After that, he needs a quick turnaround for the 2023 team. If the Sox again miss the postseason next season, it's hard to imagine Bloom surviving.
He's been given more time, which he deserves. But he had best use it wisely, and he had best see decisive on-field improvement. Or else.