Rays’ Chaim Bloom Among Twins’ Front Office Candidates

Rays vice president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom is one of the Twins’ candidates for their newly created president of baseball operations position, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).

Bloom, 33, is a Yale graduate who has been with the Rays organization since 2005 and rose to the position of VP of baseball ops following Andrew Friedman’s departure for the Dodgers organization in 2014. Bloom’s background with the Rays is multi-faceted but involves working with the team’s player development department, contract negotiations, player evaluation and international scouting.

Bloom has been a frequent candidate for GM openings around the league, as he interviewed with the Brewers last winter before their hiring of David Stearns and was also one of three reported finalists for the Phillies’ general manager vacancy prior to Philadelphia’s hiring of Matt Klentak. He joins a growing list of known Twins candidates, including Indians assistant general manager Derek Falvey, Cubs senior vice president of player development/amateur scouting Jason McLeod and Royals assistant general manager J.J. Picollo. Reports have indicated that the Twins’ list of candidates has a fairly analytical bend to it, and Bloom’s inclusion in the list lines up well with that information. It’s not yet clear, based on Rosenthal’s report, whether the Twins have conducted an interview with Bloom, though the team has already interviewed multiple candidates, including Falvey and Picollo.

After a lengthy quiet spell regarding the Twins’ executive search, rumors have begun to pick up with increasing frequency in recent weeks. However, Minnesota’s search has hit some roadblocks, as well-known execs like Alex Anthopoulos, Ben Cherington and David Forst have reportedly passed on the opportunity to interview for the newly created position atop the Twins’ baseball operations hierarchy.