Why Red Sox Fans Should Thank Former Boston GMs For New Stars originally appeared on NESN.
Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
While it’s not even Memorial Day yet, the early returns from the Boston Red Sox‘s offseason moves have been pretty good so far. Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray and Ranger Suarez have all been outstanding, contributing 3.3 WAR combined.
The issue is that many of the team’s holdovers have either underperformed or gotten hurt, including Garrett Crochet, Roman Anthony, Trevor Story and Jarren Duran.
Interestingly, Contreras, Gray and Suarez all came from organizations run by former Red Sox front office leaders. Contreras and Gray both came via trades with the St. Louis Cardinals, which is led by Chaim Bloom. Suarez was previously a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, but was allowed to leave in free agency by Dave Dombrowski.
As bad as the Red Sox have been this year, it’s crazy to think about how even worse they’d be had they not received the Gray and Contreras donations from the Chaim Bloom Charitable Foundation.
Chaim just has no interest in keeping solid big leaguers. What a gift.
— Matt McCarthy (@MattMcCarthy985) May 19, 2026
Fortunately for Boston, Bloom and Dombrowski were willing to part with that trio over the winter. It also helps that Craig Breslow has formed a good relationship with his predecessor, Bloom, which helped facilitate their two trades for Contreras and Gray last offseason.
Contreras has been the Red Sox’s best hitter this year, leading the team in home runs, RBI, walks, slugging percentage and OPS. Boston’s lineup has already struggled as it is, but it would be in much worse shape without the three-time All-Star, especially from the right side.
Meanwhile, Gray and Suarez have both been phenomenal in the rotation. In 17 combined starts, the two former All-Stars are 7-3 with a 2.64 ERA, leading the staff in Crochet’s absence. The Red Sox are 10-7 when they start and 12-20 when they don’t.
Playing in Boston isn’t easy, but all three have quickly adjusted and are playing some of the best baseball of their careers for the Red Sox right now. Credit to Breslow for acquiring all three veterans and giving the roster a significant boost.
More MLB: Why Red Sox Still Have Something To Prove After Successful Road Trip