BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox have fired Dave Dombrowski, their president of baseball operations. Dombrowski joined the Red Sox in 2015 and played a large role in building the team that won the 2018 World Series.
Shortly after a 10-5 loss to the Yankees on Sunday night, Red Sox president Sam Kennedy announced the team was parting ways with Dombrowski.
The 2019 season dissolved before it could begin, with the defending champs stumbling out of the gate due to a series of poor performances from their starting pitchers and unreliable work from the bullpen. Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello and Nathan Eovaldi, who combined for 48 wins last season, have totaled just 26 this year.
Moving forward, baseball operations will be handled by a trio of Dombrowski's underlings, including Eddie Romero, Brian O'Halloran and Zack Smith, who all shared the same title of executive vice president and assistant general manager under Dombrowski.
Dombrowski was added to the Red Sox personnel department in 2015, with Ben Cherington still on staff. Shortly after Dombrowski's arrival, Cherington resigned and Mike Hazen was promoted to general manager.
Hazen remained with the Red Sox through the 2016 season before assuming the role of executive vice president and general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Dombrowski surrounded himself with faces familiar to him, including Frank Wren and Tony LaRussa, who both provided counsel on personnel and scouting issues.
His decision to enter 2019 without an established closer after parting ways with Craig Kimbrel proved to be fatal. The combination of Brandon Workman, Ryan Brazier and Matt Barnes have not been able to replicate the consistent success Kimbrel provided after he was acquired in a deal Dombrowski brokered with the San Diego Padres before the 2016 season.
Dombrowski is responsible for the deals that brought Craig Kimbrel, David Price, Chris Sale, JD Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi, Steve Pearce and Mitch Moreland to Boston, among others.