Red Sox fire GM as baseball's most expensive team is set to miss the playoffs
After three straight playoff appearances and a World Series title last season, the Boston Red Sox have fired general manager Dave Dombrowski.
A bloated payroll and a bleak outlook in terms of young talent contributed to the firing of this highly-successful executive.
The news to part ways with Dombrowski came after the Red Sox, 76-67 and in third place in the American League East, lost to the New York Yankees on Sunday. The Red Sox made the playoffs in each of Dombrowski’s three seasons overseeing the franchise and had won the division each of those seasons.
The issue centers on the Red Sox’s roster construction and a team that boasts the highest total payroll in baseball and rather ordinary returns.
Despite being on pace for another winning season, the Red Sox had clearly been eclipsed this year by the rival Yankees, who sit 8.5 games clear of the Tampa Bay Rays in the division. The team was undergoing a bit of a roster shuffle after last year’s run to the championship, but was still expected to be a playoff contender.
The Red Sox, despite their veteran stars, are currently eight games out of a wild card position.
The team is now engaged in a full-time search for Dombrowski’s replacement, according to reports. His current duties will be assumed by the team’s three assistant general managers.
It has been a weird title defense season for the Red Sox. A 2-8 start to the year underscored some serious deficiencies on the current roster. The team rebounded from their poor start but never really got hot, enduring spits and starts en route to what appears to be their first season without the playoffs since a last-place finish in 2015.
A major issue for the Red Sox moving forward will be the rebuilding of their minor league system.
An indictment of Dombrowski at his stops prior to Boston was his willingness to gut the feeder system in exchange for acquiring veteran talent. The Red Sox currently have one of the worst minor league systems in baseball, making it difficult for the team to trade for veterans or bring up major league talent throughout the course of the regular season.
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Rebuilding the farm system is likely to be a priority for whoever assumes control of the team this offseason.