On Monday, the Red Sox made the official announcement that the club had fired president Dave Dombrowski after Boston's loss to the Yankees on Sunday. Since the Red Sox did not provide official reasoning for Dombrowski' dismissal nor did they hold a press conference to discuss the move, it left outsiders wondering.
Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci helped to provide a bit more clarity on the situation. From Verducci:
Most people were shocked. But here's the deal: the reasons the Red Sox hired Dombrowski no longer existed. What they need now, at least in the vision of owner John Henry, is a process-oriented architect who can steer the franchise efficiently through a difficult transition toward its next championship team. That person was not the 63-year-old Dombrowski.
"Dave was the kind of guy who didn't have much a process," said one source familiar with the team's thinking. "He is very good at making decisions right now based on instincts and advice. John likes a more process-oriented approach. And based on where the team is right now–the next couple of years could be rough–they don't trust him to make those decisions."
The next Boston president/general manager is going to have to sell Henry on a detail-oriented plan of how to retool the team.
The Red Sox are in a tough spot. Not only has this season been lost to a World Series hangover, but the club has plenty of serious and crucial decisions to make this offseason and the following.
After the conclusion of this season, Rick Porcello, Mitch Moreland, Steve Pearce and Brock Holt will be free agents. Superstar outfielder Mookie Betts is just a year away from free agency, and seems likely to test the market. Betts said that the Dombrowski firing doesn't change anything in regards to his pending free agents and contract extension talks, but he noted the move shows baseball is a "business."
The Red Sox could reportedly lose Betts or J.D. Martinez this offseason in order to get under luxury tax. And there's the giant contracts of Chris Sale, David Price and Nathan Eovaldi -- all three have faced injury and underperformance this season -- to be concerned about.
The Athletic's Evan Drellich also reported on the reasons why for Dombrowski's firing, noting that ownership and Dombrowski had been clashing for a while.
Red Sox ownership had been grappling with Dombrowski's future for some time. More than once since winning the World Series, Dombrowski asked ownership for an extension and was rebuffed, a person with knowledge of the situation said in August. A $145 million extension for Chris Sale this spring required a push from Dombrowski to ownership in order to get done, a push that, The Athletic has learned, Dombrowski did not handle smoothly.
While the club searches for a permanent replacement (here's a look at potential candidates) for Dombrowski, they promoted a four-person group to take over the baseball operations in the meantime. With the move, Raquel Ferreira becomes the highest-ranking woman in MLB.
