The Red Sox shocked the baseball world late Sunday night, when the news was announced, of the firing of their President of Baseball Operations, Dave Dombrowski. This is especially crazy because this comes less than a year after the Sox won the World Series versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Despite keeping much of their championship core intact, the Red Sox have fallen extremely low of 2019 expectations. They are currently 18.5 games out of the AL East, and 8 games back of the Wild Card. With 18 games left in the MLB season, they look to be eliminated from playoff contention. With an important off-season in front of them, Boston felt they wanted to go in a different direction with their decision making from Dombrowski.
They currently have the largest payroll in the Major Leagues at more than 220 Million dollars. With a potential opt-out for star DH, JD Martinez, and preparing to deal with upcoming 2021 Free agencies of top outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr, and 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts they have some hard decisions to make. The Red Sox will likely, not be able to hold on to Betts and Martinez long term, so one could be on the move this winter.
This comes after the Chris Sale extension, of 5 years $160 Million, and Nathan Eovaldi contract, 4 years $67.5 Million, of Dombrowski’s doing. After the extension, Chris Sale attracted inflammation of the elbow, which has sidelined him the rest of 2019. 2019 World Series star, Eovaldi, has struggled this year, getting hurt, and fluctuating between the pen and the starting rotation. He currently has a 5.77 ERA and is 1-0 on the season, not great for a near $100 million man.
Those Dombrowski moves, along with the 2016 $217 Million contracts for David Price, have given the Sox little wiggle room for the future.
The Red Sox have lots of young talent set for the future, including Xander Bogaerts, who was recently extended, Andrew Benintendi, Michael Chavis, and Rafael Devers, and their moves this offseason will determine if they are destined for another title push. This is a crucial time especially in the stacked Division with the powerful Yankees, up and coming Rays, and young Blue Jays, who could be a factor in the foreseeable future.
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