ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Red Sox have fired president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. According to ESPN’s Marly Rivera, Assistant GMs Eddie Romero, Brian O’Halloran, and Zack Scott will handle Dombrowski’s responsibilities through the end of the season before addressing the role in the offseason.
The Red Sox suffered a 10-5 loss to the Yankees on Sunday Night Baseball, perhaps the straw that broke the camel’s back in a disappointing season after winning a title last year. They are now 76-67, eight games out of the second wild card in the American League.
Dombrowski’s firing comes as a shock since the team is not even one year removed from winning it all, thanks in part to decisions he made or helped make. They won a franchise-record 108 games and lost only three of 14 games in the playoffs, ultimately toppling the Dodgers in five games in the World Series.
Even Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez was surprised to hear of the news. Per Rivera, Sánchez said, “Wow, did the Red Sox just fire their president? Didn’t they just win the World Series? Why wouldn’t they let him finish out the season?”
Previously, Dombrowski had a big influence on both of the Marlins’ championships in 1997 and 2003. He also helped the Tigers reach the World Series twice, in 2006 and 2012, although they lost both times. Given his track record, there should be plenty of opportunities elsewhere if Dombrowski wants to pursue them.