FORT MYERS, Fla. - We were waiting, and waiting, and waiting. But ... nothing.
Interest here. Interest there. Some short-term contracts sprinkled. But when it came to the kind of shock-and-awe expenditures Red Sox fans has become accustomed to during the John Henry ownership tenure, the fan base was left in the unfamiliar position of being on the outside looking in.
For years upon years upon years, if the Red Sox truly wanted a free agent, they were going to find a way to get them. Carl Crawford. John Lackey. Hanley Ramirez. Pablo Sandoval. David Price. A good chunk of the group came to Boston for a very simple reason - it was willing to pay more than anybody else.
But Bloom was seemingly setting his price on any and all big-name targets, and not budging off it. And with the American League Championship Series-induced benefit of the doubt firmly in place heading into the 2022 season, there was a growing sentiment that the Red Sox would once again be watching the free agent parade pass them by.
Then, boom! Come on down Trevor Story.
The debate regarding whether or not Story was the one to allocate six years and $140 million is one thing. Acknowledging that Bloom had a plan is another. We can't be hypocrites.
It's easy to understand the strategy behind locking in Story, especially once the 29-year-old proclaimed he would be willing to play a position other than shortstop. Since the beginning of the 2017 season, only two other shortstops (Corey Seager, Xander Bogaerts) have a better OPS than Story. Thin air. Thick air. He is the kind of right-handed-hitting offensive threat this Red Sox lineup, frankly, needed.
Story also represents a fail-safe for the organization if Bogaerts walks after 2022, which was clearly not lost on Bloom.
There is, however, the uncertainty of Story's elbow, along with the reality that came with 2021 being his least productive offensive season.
All part of the conversation.
But in the here and now, the power of the almighty buck and what it can do for a team like this should dominate the debate.
Don't think for a second that the players in that Red Sox clubhouse weren't cringing with every signing by another American League contender. Even in the optimistic world that roster so often exist in these March days, there is also the understanding that winners have to typically pay for certainty at some point.
It was a notion that many didn't believe Bloom embraced. That narrative officially changed Sunday morning, helping replace some growing doubts with determination.
The Red Sox were back in the kind of business some believe they should never have gotten out of.
“It sparks the team. It shows us the front office is … we know that they want to win but then to add another big piece to the organization like that would be huge," said Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. "Again, the energy and everything that he brings to the team. Again, you see him across the field and it’s exciting watching him play and to have him playing behind you, especially for me while I’m pitching and scoring runs for us, our ineup is already extremely talented and then to add another piece like that is only going to make us better."
All is right with the world. Trevor Story has chosen the Red Sox.