The Boston Red Sox still have a vacancy at the general manager position. Ben Cherington resigned after the team hired Dave Dombrowski as their new president of baseball operations, and now Dombrowski is tasked with filling the position underneath him.
Previous rumors suggested former Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles GM Frank Wren was the frontrunner for the job in Boston, but the latest from Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reveals there are a number of other candidates Dombrowski is considering.
"Diamondbacks VP De Jon Watson and Red Sox assistant GM Mike Hazen in addition to early favorite Frank Wren, the former Braves and Orioles GM, have surfaced as candidates for the Red Sox GM job, sources say," Heyman wrote yesterday.
"Ray Montgomery, the Brewers' VP of amateur scouting, also has been mentioned in connection with the Red Sox job, and other candidates may surface, as well, for a big job that won't necessarily be filled quickly."
Additionally, Dombrowski spoke with John Tomase of WEEI.com and provided an update in regards to the hiring process.
"I have not started anything in the general manager's position, other than have a list compiled," he told Tomase.
Dombrowski stressed the importance of continuity in a front office, which is why he has yet to make a decision. He already announced a number of promotions in the department, but the GM vacancy will have to wait because he also wants to talk to external candidates once the pennant races come to an end.
None of the previously mentioned candidates are involved in pennant races, so it'll be interesting to see who else Dombrowski is considering around the MLB. However, the fact that he's big on continuity might suggest Hazen is atop the list because the assistant GM has been with the organization since 2006 when Theo Epstein hired him as director of player development.
"Dombrowski will go through the process -- in part because the Red Sox will be mandated to do so by Major League Baseball -- but the man best suited to serve as the team's new general manager is Mike Hazen, who already is in his employ as the team's assistant GM," writes Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
After all, the Red Sox have one of the most talented farm systems and core of young MLB players in the entire league, and Hazen was instrumental in building that foundation.