Dave Dombrowski’s unemployment didn’t even last a month. The former Detroit Tigers GM has been hired as the new president of baseball operations for the Boston Red Sox, and as a result of his hiring, Boston GM Ben Cherington is stepping down.
The Red Sox have hired Dave Dombrowski as their president of baseball operations.
— Tim Britton (@TimBritton) August 19, 2015
Ben Cherington declined the opportunity to continue as general manager. He will assist in the transition.
— Tim Britton (@TimBritton) August 19, 2015
Cherington had been the GM of the Red Sox since October of 2011, replacing Theo Epstein. He had been with the organization since 2003, initially joining them as their director of player development.
Cherington hasn’t even cleaned out his office and his chair is still warm, yet a replacement for him is already being tossed around – former Braves GM Frank Wren, who was fired by the club last September.
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
Boston’s front office was already in a state of upheaval following the announcement that team president Larry Lucchino was stepping down following the 2015 season and the hiring of ex-Angels GM Jerry Dipoto as a consultant. When you combine all of that front office chaos with the team’s struggles on the field and manager John Farrell’s lymphoma diagnosis, you’re looking at a year that Red Sox Nation wishes never happened.
The real losers in this situation appear to be the teams such as the Mariners and Phillies who were expected to be in the market for new GMs this winter. With an established name like Dombrowski off the market, they’ll have to get a little more creative – and those two organizations aren’t all that great about being creative.
