The Dave Dombrowski rumors are already ramped after only a day after it was announced he was out as the general manager and president of the Detroit Tigers. While there are already a number of obvious MLB teams being mentioned as possible destinations, but what about the Washington Nationals?
Even as a baseball executive, Dombrowki could be the most coveted free agent in the MLB. So far the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles have been brought up in the Dombrowski rumor talk and the speculation is justified.
Red Sox team president Larry Lucchino is stepping down after the season; Blue Jays' team president Paul Beeston is calling it quits after 2015; Angels' general manager Jerry Dipoto quit in the middle of the season; Mariners' GM Jack Zduriencik could be on the hot seat after the team's performance this season; Brewers' GM Doug Melvin has been talking with the team about being reassigned within the organization; Phillies' GM Ruben Amaro may not be retained when his contract expires after the season; and Orioles' GM Dan Duquette is likely to garner interest from other clubs, meaning he could be on the way out, especially what happened this offseason with the Blue Jays.
But what about the Nationals?
"I think Dave has a very good relationship with the ownership there - the Lerner family," Bob Nightengale of USA Today said on the Baseball Tonight Podcast. "Maybe they want someone above [general manager] Mike Rizzo just to look over things and see what's going on. The one thing about Dave is that he's been to those owners' meetings time and time again, so he knows these people."
Rizzo is the general manager and president of baseball operations and has been GM of the team since 2009. Over that span he has led the Nationals to three winning records, two division titles and two postseason appearances, but failed to get out of the division series. Washington has taken a giant leap over the past couple of seasons in terms of success, landing big free agents and cultivating a deep and talented farm system.
Dombrowski has pretty much spent his career as an executive undertaking various rebuilding projects during his tenures with the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins and Tigers, so maybe it's time he oversees an already established club poised to make a run at the World Series.
After all, the Nationals did this last year in free agency. They had a stacked starting rotation with Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister, Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark, but went out on the market and signed the most coveted free agent in starter Max Scherzer.
Their front office is already one of the best in the MLB. Could they look to further buttress that part of the organization by luring in Dombrowski?
Teams are already contacting the veteran executive, so it might not be long before he's back in baseball.
