Red Sox hire Dave Dombrowski as president of baseball operations

The Boston Red Sox have announced the hiring of former Tigers general manager and president Dave Dombrowski as their president of baseball operations. 

The Red Sox’ current general manager, Ben Cherington, has resigned from his position. He will help assist Dombrowski make the transition into Boston’s front office, but ultimately will no longer serve as the GM. 

Dombrowski was released from his duties in Detroit in early August. 

The 59-year-old Dombrowski has been well-regarded as one of the best executives within the game, helping to lead the Tigers to many successful seasons, including two American League pennants. 

He has been credited with bringing Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Max Scherzer, Yoenis Cespedes, and other stars to the Tigers in via trade, while also having success in the free agent market with signings like the one of Price Fielder. 

For his career, Dombrowski has spent time at the helm of three organizations: Detroit, the then-Florida Marlins, and the Montreal Expos. 

The switch is an interesting one for the Red Sox, who have disappointed after a big spending spree this offseason, which included bringing in the likes of Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval, and others through both signing and trade. At the time of this writing, the Red Sox are 52-66 and are 9 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. 

Dombrowski’s apparent general managing strategy is different than that of Cherington. Dombrowski is known to be more of a scouting-first, go-for-it general manager, where as Cherington has shown to invest in both sabermetrics and the development of prospects. 

The 41-year-old Cherington has had successful years himself, leading the Red Sox to the 2013 World Series championship and being named the 2013 Executive of the Year for his efforts. He will likely find work within baseball elsewhere. 

—Devan Fink

---