UPDATE: Frank Wren is believed to be the frontrunner for the Red Sox GM job, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports.
Frank Wren is the leading contender to be GM under Dave Dombrowski with the #RedSox now that Ben Cherington is leaving.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 19, 2015
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The big changes in Boston have already commenced before the conclusion of the 2015 MLB season. Former Detroit Tigers CEO/general manager Dave Dombrowski will now join the Red Sox as president of baseball operations.
News of the hire came late last night via Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. Britton and others also noted a couple of other things:
- Dombrowski met with Red Sox ownership last week in Chicago, flew to Boston for an interview over the weekend and accepted the job on Sunday, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
- Dombrowski offered Ben Cherington to remain as general manager, but he declined, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports.
- The Toronto Blue Jays had "serious conversations" with Dombrowski and the Red Sox gave him full control over baseball operations to close the hire, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports added.
- During his stint with the Florida Marlins, Dombrowski worked under Red Sox principal owner John Henry for four seasons, Britton noted.
The Red Sox announced the move shortly after Britton's report:
The Boston #RedSox announce today that the organization has hired Dave Dombrowski to be its President of Baseball Operations. (1/5)
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) August 19, 2015
Henry also issued a statement following the move last night:
"I have known Dave very well for a long time," he said, via Ian Browne of MLB.com. "Tom [Werner] and I have no doubts that Dave is the right person to strengthen our baseball operations group going forward. He is one of the most highly regarded executives in all of baseball, and had options to go with other clubs. We feel very fortunate that he wanted to come to Boston, and wanted to further his career - now with the Red Sox - as one of the great architects of winning baseball clubs."
Chairman Tom Werner added, "we had reached a clear consensus that we needed to enhance our baseball operation."
Dombrowski thanked the two men for providing him with such a favorable position after his bizarre departure from Detroit.
"I want to thank John and Tom for this opportunity," he said. "Although I did have other potential options within baseball, there was no option that stood out as clearly as the chance to come to Boston and win with the Red Sox. Boston is a baseball city like no other, and its history and traditions are unique in our game. I expressed to John and Tom that Boston would be my absolute top choice and am honored to have the chance to serve Red Sox Nation."
Dombrowski will be introduced today at Fenway Park during a 2 p.m. ET press conference.
With Ben Cherington now out as Boston's GM, he'll have many opportunities as various MLB teams will likely be looking for a new general manager between now and the offseason.
The front office of the Red Sox now consists of Dombrowski and former Los Angeles Angels GM Jerry Dipoto, and Cherington - who won a World Series with the team in his second year on the job - could begin talking with clubs such as the Milwaukee Brewers, Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Seattle Mariners and others. He's probably now the most sought-after free-agent front office executive.
