Who could Red Sox bring in to replace Chaim Bloom?

BOSTON -- The Red Sox made a change atop the organization on Thursday, firing chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom just shy of the four-year anniversary of his hiring. Now, John Henry and company have to find someone else to run the franchise's baseball operations.

A return by Theo Epstein would be a great story and likely lead to some instant success, but the Red Sox have already ruled out that reunion. And Red Sox skipper Alex Cora doesn't seem to want to move to the front office -- at least not just yet. So you can cross those two off a wish list of potential Bloom replacements.

So who could Boston tab to lead the franchise forward? Whoever comes in will have a pretty good starting point, with Bloom clearing the books over the last three-plus years and fixing the franchise's farm system. Bloom's firing seems to indicate that Henry and Co. are ready to spend some money this offseason in hopes of getting the team back to contention.

Here's a look a few potential candidates that could take over Boston's baseball ops. department.

Brandon Gomes

A Fall River native and Red Sox fan growing up, Gomes is currently the GM of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He got that gig in January 2022 after four years as director of player development. He'd bring in the perspective of a former player, too, having been a reliever for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2011-15, making 173 big league appearances.

Sam Fuld

Another local guy, Fuld is a New Hampshire native who is currently GM of the Philadelphia Phillies under Dave Dombrowski, a role he has served since 2020. He first got his start in baseball ops. in 2017, following his eight-year playing career with the Rays and Athletics. So he too possess the mind of a former player.

Fuld was once considered a candidate to be Boston's manager before Cora returned from his suspension in 2021.

Mike Hazen

Hazen's name should be familiar to Red Sox fans, as he spent more than a decade in the Boston front office in various roles before leaving in 2016 to become executive VP and general manager of the Diamondbacks. He started as Boston's director of player development in February 2006, was promoted to VP of player development and amateur scouting in 2011, and then VP and assistant GM in 2012. He was a senior VP by 2015, and was the team's general manager under Dombrowski before departing for Arizona. 

He's built a really solid core in his time with the Diamondbacks, but maybe he'll want to head home if a new opportunity with the Red Sox is presented to him.

Amiel Sawdaye

Sawdaye works with Hazen in Arizona, and like Hazen, spent a big chunk of his career in Boston. A Baltimore native, Sawdaye spent 15 years in the Red Sox organization, spending seven seasons as VP of amateur and international scouting. During his tenure, the Red Sox drafted the likes of Matt Barnes, Andrew Benintendi, and Mookie Betts.

Sawdaye has been Arizona's senior VP and assistant GM since 2016.

James Click

The Astros brought in Click to replace Jeff Luhnow after he was fired as part of the aftermath of Houston's sign-stealing scandal. Within three seasons, the Astros were back to being World Series champs thanks to Click's moves. But he was fired after that title, and now serves as VP of baseball strategy for the Toronto Blue Jays. 

But he may be a little too much like Bloom for Boston's taste; Click is a Yale grad who also spent a lot of time in the Rays organization.

Chris Antonetti

A Connecticut native and UMass Amherst grad, Antontetti is currently serving as president of baseball operations for the Cleveland Guardians. He's been in baseball since 1998 when he worked for the front office of the Montreal Expos, and he made the move to Cleveland in 1999. He was named the organization's GM in 2010, and elevated to president of baseball ops. in 2015.

Antonetti was named MLB's Executive of the Year last year after the Guardians went 92-70 and won the AL Central despite having the fourth-lowest payroll in the league.

David Forst

The current GM of the Athletics, Forst has been with the Oakland organization since 2000 when he got his start as a scout. He was promoted to assistant GM in 2004, and has been general manager since 2015. 

The A's made the postseason three straight seasons from 2018-20, but have since torn it down to rebuild. Oakland finished last in the AL West and 2022 and are in the running to have the worst record in baseball this season.

Eddie Romero

If the Red Sox want to go with an in-house option, Romero is the guy. He's won three World Series rings over his 18-year run with the organization, and was promoted to executive vice president/assistant general manager in 2018.

Romero has had a ton of success in the international free agent market, signing Rafael Devers, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Brayan Bello as international prospects.