Michael Girsch should be considered for the next Boston Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer

Boston Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom has been fired. Bloom was given an extremely difficult task right out of the gate when hired by the Red Sox in 2020. He had to trade franchise cornerstone Mookie Betts which already looks like a gargantuan loss for the Red Sox. Even with that decision being passed down by ownership, Bloom failed to extend team captain Xavier Bogaerts during the 2022 season and lost him last second to the San Diego Padres at the Winter Meetings.

With 4 years of micro-budgeting, building draft capital, and small marketing one of the biggest franchises in the sport, the Red Sox have seen enough. The current front office will finish up the 2023 season in the next couple of weeks, but the organization will be pursuing a new head of baseball operations. 

There will be an endless amount of names that will be thrown into the hat for consideration (Theo Epstein is not returning sorry Red Sox fans). One name that should receive consideration is St. Louis Cardinals General Manager Michael Girsch. Girsch has been President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak’s right-hand man since 2011. He was promoted to GM in 2017 and has been put in place for coordinating the baseball development group, contract negotiations, player evaluations, and player transactions for the Cardinals front office. Girsch played a major role in the Nolan Arenado trade that Cardinals fans and fans of MLB will all agree was one of the most lopsided trades in MLB history. 

Girsch has not held a title in his career where he is in charge of all of baseball operations. But he was once considered for the role for the New York Mets back in 2021. Girsch declined the role with the Mets and remained on Mozeliak's staff. The Mets hired David Stearns this week who was the best available executive going into the 2023-2024 MLB offseason. So the Red Sox missed their best option by just a few days. 

Michael Girsch has many years within a historic franchise that has won multiple World Series within his tenure and has been led by one of the most stable front offices in sports. He has remained loyal and continues to work within the Cardinal Way model that has shown consistent success for decades. 2023 is the anomaly year….or it is a sign that changes need to happen. John Mozeliak’s contract is up after the 2024 season and many speculate that he will not be returning. Girsch could be the leading candidate for the opening, but I believe it will be Randy Flores. Maybe it is time for Michael Girsch to entertain the notion of leaving the only organization he knows and accept one of the most sought-after positions in MLB: Chief Baseball Officer for the Boston Red Sox.