FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It didn't take long for Chaim Bloom to face a question about his own job security.
Addressing the media as spring training got underway at Fenway South, Bloom was asked if he was thinking about what last year's last-place finish meant for him.
"I haven't thought about that,'' said Bloom. "I don't think about things that way. it's not something that I think is productive to think about, not something I can control. What I control is trying to put us in a position to win and position what we're trying to do, which is make our fans happy. That's what I've been focused on.''
That said, Bloom maintained that the 2023 Red Sox will be improved over last year.
"It's no secret that we weren't good enough last year. We just weren't,'' he said. "There's a lot of different reasons for that and it's something we spent a lot of time thinking about. What it comes down to is a combination of a couple of things -- we brought in a lot of players I think have a chance to contribute in different ways. Some of them are veterans. And then we also have some interesting young players. Some came from the outside and a lot coming from within that I think have a lot of upside that we need to tap into.''
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Spring training is often the time when teams explore the potential for extending some of their young players to longer contracts, buying out some arbitration years and free agent seasons.
"It's something we should be in the business of doing when there's a match,'' he said. "It both to be that we've identified a player -- a talented player and the person -- as the kind of player we want to invest in and the player sees it as something they want to do and we align on the terms. It's something that, as much as we can with the right individual, we should be in the business of doing.''
It was pointed out to Bloom that Triston Casas said he'd be open to exploring such a deal last month.
"It's obviously good when a player says that,'' said Bloom. "To me, it means that they like it here and they can see themselves being here for a really long time and they can see themselves trading off some upside for the certainty of being here. I take that as a compliment, so it's nice to see.''
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There are still some intriguing free agents available, but the Sox are at the 40-man limit. Bloom was asked if he could rule out giving out another major league deal this spring.
"I wouldn't rule that out,'' he said. "We know we have one player in Trevor (Story) who is going to go on the 60-day (IL) so that can create a spot. And independent of Trevor, I think we still want to be opportunistic. And we will be as camp goes on.''
Bloom said there are "some different guys,'' with whom the Sox have had discussions.
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A number of projection models have pegged the Red Sox win total in the high 70s or low 80s, but Bloom isn't overly concerned.
"It's not for me to dissect some of those external projections,'' said Bloom. "We look at them, we compare them against a lot of things internally. We know in for a battle. Our job is to help every guy on our roster to reach their top end. And I think if we do that, or we come close to doing that, we're going to be in a really good position. But we can't really worry too much about where people have us projected.
"Like I said, I don't blame people for having us projected wherever they have us projected. We weren't very good last year; we know that. We've got to be better.''
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Bloom is pleased with the feedback the Sox are getting on newcomer Masataka Yoshida.
"What has stuck out to people here has been more about how he's been (in the clubhouse),'' Bloom said. "Even with the language barrier, the comfortability inside the clubhouse, how he follows the game. He knows he's going to be adjusting to a whole new league, a whole set of different pitchers. He follows this league very closely. He knows who these guys are. He knows a lot of things baseball-wise. That's what I've gathered from staff about. He's mixing right in, getting to know people. He's really invested in his work.''
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Bloom strongly indicated that newly acquired Adalberto Mondesi, who underwent knee surgery last April, will likely not be ready for Opening Day.
"We're still working on a timetable there as we progress,'' said Bloom. "There's still a chance (he could be available). That's not something I would bet on. But that's no different from when we acquired him. It's still a possibility. On one hand, he's such a good athlete that you don't want to put anything past him. He could progress very quickly. On the other hand, he's such a dynamic athlete, you want to make sure he's really ready so we and he feel he's in a position to be fully unleashed.
"Our staff's been pushing him hard. He's been working hard. But Opening Day is still something that I think is best-case scenario.''