Less than a year after his team captured another World Series title, Dave Dombrowski is OUT in Boston.
BREAKING: Dave Dombrowski is out as president of the Boston Red Sox. Assistant general manager Eddie Romero will take over as head of baseball operations.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 9, 2019
News: Less than one year after winning the World Series, the Boston Red Sox have fired president Dave Dombrowski and are elevating assistant GM Eddie Romero to head of baseball operations. Story at ESPN: https://t.co/KLkki68qMI
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 9, 2019
It’s been a disappointing year for the Red Sox to be sure, but it’s still very surprising to see a move so soon after a championship. Still, if you know you’re going to be going through a transition period as the Red Sox might be, and if you want to get a jump on trying to find the best candidate out there, now is the time to make a move.
To say that running baseball operations for the Red Sox will be an attractive job is about as understating as it gets. Not only are they a perennial competitor in a premium baseball market, but they’ve also got ownership that has consistently supported the expenditure of significant resources.
Any Cubs impact here, given the obvious former connections? Well, Theo Epstein is already at the president level with the Cubs, so he couldn’t be poached unless it was a negotiated situation – and with a contract that pays him $10 million per year through the next two years, it’s pretty hard to see a separation right now. Absolutely impossible? I wouldn’t go that far – it was always possible that Epstein would want to return to Boston after his days in Chicago were over – but I would just say unlikely. Jed Hoyer getting a promotion to the big chair? Again, it’s possible, but I’m not sure I could say it’s likely.
Keep in mind, the Red Sox also have a pipeline of (more recent) front office talent populating the Diamondbacks front office (it basically is a hybrid Red Sox/Cubs graduate program, and a very successful one at that), so there are some natural connections there, too.
All that said, I tentatively expect the Red Sox to try to follow the Dodgers’ path, aiming to pick up the best-of-the-best small market executive.
In any case, this is major news, especially given the roster turnover the Red Sox might’ve seen anyway. Now? It could be crazy.