Changes Likely With Dombrowski Taking Over

            The Boston Red Sox have been able to put on quite a show for us lately, at least offensively, but lets be honest—This is nothing to be overly excited about.

            I can’t imagine this is new news to anyone, but the 2015 season has been virtually over for Boston since shortly after the All-Star Break. Instead of getting caught up on what this year could have been had the Red Sox signed some real pitchers, I think it’s more appropriate to start thinking about offseason priorities.

            MLB pennant races haven’t even been decided yet, but the Sox have already made what is likely to be the most important move of all regarding the 2016 team. That was to bring in Dave Dombrowski, the new President of Baseball Operations.

            Dombrowski has an excellent track record. He started his career just north of us up in Montreal, where he built the Expos’ farm system. Dombrowski then moved on and worked as the General Manager of the Florida Marlins in the 1990s, and won them the World Series in 1997. During that time, he worked under John Henry, who was the owner of the Marlins at the time, and is currently the principle owner of the Sox. After his time with in Florida, Dombrowski moved to Detroit, and built what is now the baseball empire that is the Tigers.

            In his time in the Motor City, Dombrowski oversaw five playoff appearances and two pennants. Everywhere Dombrowski has gone, success has gone with him, and I don’t see any reason why it won’t be more of the same in Boston.

            There’s no question that Dombrowski will be making some big changes with the team, the question is going to be who stays and who goes.

            Priority number one for him in the offseason has to be the pitching staff. From the bullpen to the rotation, there needs to be some drastic turnover. And when I say drastic, I mean it. If you to go the Red Sox website right now and look at the team’s depth chart, you’ll see that Rick Porcello is listed as their number one starter. Porcello is 8-12 on the year with a 5.06 ERA. Those numbers don’t sound to me like ones that can lead a starting rotation for an MLB contender, and I suspect Dombrowski feels the same way.

            David Price will be a free agent at the end of the season, and I would be very surprised if the Red Sox weren’t in contention for him.

            In the bullpen, it is more of the same. The Sox are going to need a total revamp of the ‘pen if they want to contend in ’16.

            Perhaps the most likely candidate to be traded at this point is outfielder and soon-to-be-first baseman Hanley Ramirez. Hanley has ben nothing short of a disaster defensively, and isn’t exactly tearing the cover off of the ball at the plate. He’s hit .249 so far this year, which is well below is career mark of .296. It’s a sure bet that Ramirez is being shopped around right now, but with the contract that the Sox gave him in the offseason—$88 million over four years—finding a home for him will be no easy task.

            The other question that remains up in the air right now is whether or not John Farrell will remain the manager of the ball club in 2016. The past few seasons have been ugly, and Farrell has made some very noticeable in-game mistakes. I’m not saying that the demise of the Red Sox is his fault, but he certainly hasn’t helped the cause.

            With Dombrowski coming in, I wouldn’t be surprised if he wants his own guy to manage the team. It may be a long shot, but Jim Leyland is the first person who comes to mind. Leyland managed under Dombrowski in Florida and in Detroit. It’s hard to picture, considering Leyland is 70 years old and a chain smoker, but I wouldn’t count it out.

            While it’s likely that the Red Sox are looking for other options to lead the team, this isn’t an easy time for them to fire Farrell. The pitching-coach turned skipper, who has one year left on his contract, is currently going through radiation treatment for cancer. Firing someone who is in the middle of getting cancer treatment is a horrible thing to do—in any industry—and the Red Sox are looking at a potential public relations disaster if they do so.

            With that factor playing against the fact from a win-at-all-costs perspective the Sox probably need a managerial change; will make it very interesting to see what they do. Dombrowski will have his hands full in fixing this team, but I’m confident that with his experience and proven success, he can be the man for the job.

Contact Jasper Goodman at jgoodman@radiovermont.com.