Ex-Red Sox All-Star Matt Barnes Sounds Off On Chaim Bloom At Spring Training

Barnes did not end his Red Sox tenure on great terms

Scott Neville | Mar 1, 2023

Ex-Red Sox All-Star Matt Barnes Sounds Off On Chaim Bloom At Spring Training /

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Boston Red Sox

Former All-Star reliever Matt Barnes was one of the longest-tenured members of the Boston Red Sox organization heading into the offseason.

Barnes was a member of the organization since he was selected No. 19 overall in the 2011 draft and has been on the Red Sox big-league roster since 2014.

After being designated for assignment and then traded to the Miami Marlins days later, the 32-year-old left on rocky terms.

Prior to the Red Sox-Marlins spring training matchup Tuesday, Barnes took the opportunity to reflect on his appreciation for the fanbase and organization -- but took a shot at Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom in the process.

"I’m not mad and I don’t have any animosity toward the Red Sox organization because that organization represents so much more than who’s currently running it," Barnes told The Boston Globe's Pete Abraham. "The people at the top were so great to me.”

The dig was almost certainly about Bloom, which seems unfair. Yes, it was a shock when he was cut but Barnes totally lost his feel for almost a year and did not play well enough to secure his job heading into a new season.

Bloom also was the one to hand Barnes a lucrative mid-season extension in 2021 that is now coming back to haunt the organization for the 2023 season.

It's rare for players to be so candid in these interviews but Barnes clearly had some strong feelings after a very surprising cut-and-trade.

It would be good for the game if more players spoke up when they felt slighted. Unfortunately, remarks like Barnes' will be few and far between.

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Published Mar 1, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu