The Phillies got their guy. Loudly on the hunt for a veteran executive – for a personality big enough to match their sense of urgency – the Philadelphia Phillies coaxed two-time World Series winner Dave Dombrowski to leave his position in Nashville and answer the call.
The news broke yesterday, but today, the organization formally announced Dombrowski as their first-ever President of Baseball Operations. He signed for four years and $20MM, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). As Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca points out, that’s the most money handed out to a free agent so far this winter.
Dombrowski comes heavily decorated. He won the World Series in 1997 with the Marlins and in 2018 with the Red Sox. He built two pennant winners with the Detroit Tigers (2006, 2012). He has 31 total years of experience running an MLB franchise, and he’s the only general manager in MLB history to lead three different franchises to the World Series. That’s quite the feather in his cap. He’s also the only two-time winner of Baseball America’s Executive of the Year award.
In the press release, managing partner John Middleton said this of Dombrowski:
This is a great day for the Philadelphia Phillies. David Dombrowski is one of the most accomplished executives this great game has ever seen, and we are thrilled to welcome him to Philadelphia. Between David and Joe Girardi, we now have two of the best people in place to set us on the path back to where we want to be, and that is the postseason and contending for world championships.
Interestingly, the press release also made special mention of Dombrowski’s track record of success in the draft, listing Rondell White, Cliff Floyd, Charles Johnson, Cameron Maybin, Mark Kotsay, Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Verlander, Nicholas Castellanos, Josh Beckett, Andrew Miller, and Rick Porcello among the standouts. That’s noteworthy particularly in the context of previous comments made by team president Andy MacPhail back in October when they began their search, per the Athletic’s Matt Gelb. :
Our R&D department has been good with one exception. I’m just being blunt. I look at Tampa. They’re able to unlock the hidden value or potential in minor-league players that have been around a while that they recognize something that we’re not picking up on yet. I think that’s one thing that this franchise needs to improve on. Our R&D needs to obviously help with that.
Specifically, the Phillies were seeking someone with a track record of success in player evaluation. For more insight into Philadelphia’s thinking, let’s take a cue from Brad Pitt in Moneyball: What’s the problem? As Gelb helpfully reminds us, at the time of former GM Matt Klentak’s reassignment, Middleton said this:
I think the problem the Phillies have had for a hundred years is they don’t evaluate talent well.
Dombrowski’s win-now mentality is getting headline treatment, with assumptions being made about the free agent dollars Dombrowki will spend and the prospects he will trade away. The Phillies themselves, however, are underlining some other aspects of Dombrowski’s resume. Player evaluation plays a role in every aspect of roster building, of course. Still, it’s intriguing that system building has been at the forefront of Philly’s messaging in the early going.
Dombrowski will answer questions from the media this afternoon.
Too funny
At least he’s got some decent hair for a guy his age
How do we know this? With the amount of money this guy has, how do we not know that’s not some fancy rug or plug
ala Ted Danson
In no way a judge in that matter, but it looks natural. He has his maternal grandfather to thank, as do I.
I hope is a good hire. Hopefully, Dombrowski does not trade Adonis Medina. He should be part of the future for the franchise.
if he acquires someone for Medina that leads to a parade in November, great deal. Remember this, prospects dont earn parades.
Everyone must go…
Prospects become major league contributors which leads to parades and the Phillies need as much young, cheap talent contributing as possible. They’re already top heavy with large contracts.
Other argument is, you don’t rebuild when your top players are in their prime. Nola, Harper, Wheeler, Hoskins, Bohm…with the proper pieces you can win. The question is do they spend to surround their core with solid pieces, or do they give up and rebuild? The Braves are ahead of everyone in the NL East, but it’s still a winnable division.
I don’t care if he trades Bryce Harper if he gets 4-5 top young players and prospects for him and frees up $$$$ that puts the Phillies in the World Series in 3 or 4 years.
Lol, no reasonable offer refused
Dombrowski even looks like he likes spicy chicken. Spicy chicken wins championships just ask little Nicky and the waterboy. “Popeyes chicken is the $#;?!”
Bosley has really stepped up their game lately haha
This just in: Phillies dedicating to losing for the next decade
well Middleton isnt cheaping out on execs at least
If Middleton really wants to downgrade payroll. Then DD makes no sense. DD is a builder of a roster and he likes to spend the money and make big splashes
DD overpays in dollars to free agents and in prospects in trades.
It was great that the Red Sox won the division 2016, 2017, 2018 and a World Series during his tenure. Most of the core players were in place when he arrived, but he did get those last few pieces to get the WS. That said the FO and many fans felt it was time for him to move on and let a roster builder take over….someone who would look at not only the 40-man, but how manage the entire system!
I feel as though the Sox are the exception. Look at the Marlins and Tigers teams he built from scratch.
Dombrowski was hired by John Henry/Red Sox to pull out all the stops and win another championship. Dombrowski kept their core in tact and traded some of their farm pieces for the missing pieces like Closer, bullpen etc, Dombrowski also signed some free agents. Without Dombrowski’s trades, Red Sox do not win the World Series in 2008 and they would still be waiting for the farm hands Dombrowski traded to “break out” while they struggle to get back to the playoffs.
2018
You know, if you don’t really have anything to say, you actually don’t have to even comment.
Phillies were bad before and even worse now with Dumbrowski aboard.
If you think Dombrowski is worse than Klentak/McPhail… lol
I would agree with that.
They all stink. Just throw big money at free agents and hope it works.
Dombrowski has 2 world series wins, 3 appearances.
His Detroit portion of his CV does speak to sustained success. Though the senior Illitch seemed far more dedicated to trying to win a WS than Middleton does.
That’s not really how I go about judging a GM.
4 times
2 with tigers
1 with Marlins
1 with blow sox
4 WS appearances with the Marlins in 1997, with the Tigers in 2006 and 2012 and with the Red Sox in 2018.
And it would have been five with the Expos with the best record in baseball when the STRIKE shut down the season.,
DD’s fingerprints were on that 1994 Expos team. But he was with the Marlins for that year.
Don’t care how many times his teams have made the WS. He left the Tigers and Red Sox in shambles. Phillies don’t have the pieces those teams had. In Philly his massive spending and gutting of the farm will only make them an early playoff exit at best.
All teams go through cycles and his run in Detroit was quite sustained. In fact, he made some solid trades right before his departure Cespedes for Fulmer and Price for Norris. I recognize both these guys have had struggles, but those were two prime prospects at the time who have had varying degrees of success for the Tigers. Beyond that, I firmly believe DD would have gotten more for JV, JD, and Castellanos. The market has changed, but DD doesn’t get credit for the trades he has made. Can’t say I’ve watched his moves closely in MON, FLA, or BOS, but people forget the foundational pieces he pulled in DET for basically nothing – Guillen and Polanco, who were both instrumental in the initial run, and then Scherzer and Cabrera – with Granderson and Andrew Miller really being the only players that saw any level of success thereafter. Arguably, he fleeced ARI and FLA in the first two deals. I don’t think the Tigers should have ever let DD go. Philly is lucky to have him.
Absolutely correct…and the Tigers as well. His M.O. is just as you say, “massive spending and gutting the farm” .Disaster lurks.
Mike Illitch was in his last year or 2 on this earth and wanted Dombrowski to always “double down” and “go all in”…
Dombrowski knew it was time to retool or rebuild. In Dombroski’s last acts running the Tigers, Dombrowski traded Price to the Jays for 3 or 4 young pitching prospects including Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd and Jairo Labourt Then, he traded Cespedes to the Mets for young prospect Michael Fulmer who became Rookie of the Year and All Star in Detroit.
And, he traded Joakin Soria to the Pirates for breakout CF Jacoby Jones. And, then Mike Illitch fired Dombrowski for making those deals for the future of the franchise….
If the Tigers had kept Dombrowski, then their rebuild or retooling would be over and the Tigers would be a playoffs team now..
BS and Bad Rap on Dombrowski by Boston Press and Red Sox fans.
HOW MANY GREAT TEAM PRESIDENTS AND GMS HAVE THE RED SOX RUN OFF FIRED/AND OR QUIT?!
Larry Lucchino?!
Theo Epstein?!
Ben Cherington?!
Dave Dombrowski?!
Something is wrong with the Red Sox Ownership
that is blows out so much Front Office talent
that has trouble working with that Front Office and Ownership group.
I would not put it on Dombrowski.
Dombrowski built the Expos, Marlins from Expansion team to WS Champion in record time then tore it down and rebuilt it into another WS Champion.
Built the Tigers from 119 losses to the WS in 3 short years….
Don’t believe the complete BS coming out of the Boston media.
Why is all that talent leaving Boston?!
Can’t work with Sam Kennedy and/or John Henry?!
That was your problem, not Dombrowski..
Same thing Dombrowski did with the Marlins after the 1st Championship, tear down and rebuild from 1997 to the 2004 team.
Marlins won the 2nd Championship with Dombrowski’s player after he had left for Detroit.
Actually, it would be 6 World Series if you count
the 2004 Marlins team loaded with Dombrowski’s players who won the WS
after Dombrowski had already left for Detroit.
I would replace “bad” with “mediocre” and “even worse” with “still mediocre.” I like the move. People talk about DD destroying farms, but the Marlins won another WS shortly after he left. Boston’s current problems aren’t solely on DD’s head, but he does like to spend money. It’ll be interesting if the Phillies go full rebuild or try to plug some holes. Sadly, I expect it’s the former.
Except he’s won everywhere he’s been. Marlins, WS win, Red Sox, WS win. Tigers 4 ALCS and 2 WS appearances. How can he be bad? So he trades prospects. Prospects dont get you parades in November
Bingo, if anything the game has missed people like him who understand winning now means exactly that, a 19 year old at A ball can’t help you win and the value of keeping that player is NEVER as high as winning a ring – plenty of current execs need to have this rammed into their heads….
But he never trades for bullpen arms. The Achilles heal of most of his teams
1. because that worked for us last year.
2. Andrew Friedman
He traded for bullpen arms in Boston and Miami
He had plenty of bullpen arms in Detroit. Its just he chose the wrong ones. It wasn’t for lack of trying.
Donmbrowski /Red Sox deal After just one season with the San Diego Padres, closer Craig Kimbrel has been traded to the Boston Red Sox in a five-player deal.
The Padres confirmed Kimbrel was traded Friday to Boston for Manuel Margot, Logan Allen, Carlos Asuaje and Javier Guerra. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports first reported the Red Sox were acquiring Kimbrel.
While I get your point about prospects(not yet proven), a blend of experienced veterans and holding onto the best prospects seems like a solid formula. Seager and Urias. Many teams may have ditched Urias some time after the capsule tear in his shoulder. Or parted with Seager after his ACL year and hip injury.
TB has also done it well also(with much cheaper vets), as well as SF in their even year domination earlier in the decade.
Relying more and more on high-priced veterans in FA signings and trades where your best younger guys go elsewhere is like going “all-in.” It is not sustainable. The elder Steinbrenner did it, but I don’t think the same luxury tax penalties were in place then.
No system is sustainable. The LAD is the closest right now. What makes a system sustainable is $$$$$!
He has not won every place he has been
Yes he has: Expos best record in baseball before strike derailed WS
Marlins: built 2 championship teams (2nd won after he left for Detroit)
Took over a 119 loss Tigers ballclub and had them in the World Series in 3 years (2006, 2012, Boston won WS 2008
Sportsfan0000….you may want to look up where DD worked during the 1994 strike year. DD had not been with Montreal for a few years during the 1994 strike.
Ditto for 2008 WS (Epstein).
I do not disagree with your point that he is an accomplished GM and President of baseball ops, but it’s important to be accurate in citing examples
My comment said 2018
Dombrowski drafted and traded for many of the players on the Expos Roster with the best record in baseball w hen the strike shut it down, Like with the Marlins 2nd championship won with Dombrowski’s players, he had moved on to his next day..
Phillies fans should be happy about this move. DD knows how to build a winner. I’m still worried about Middleton agenda
Phillies fans always need something to complain about. The same people who were vocal about firing Klentac are bitching about the hire on Philly sports blogs. It’s the same group of idiots trying to get the Eagles to fire Howie.
It’s far easier to be negative than positive.
I’m not saying he’s the worst exec in the world but I really don’t see the fit.
Perfect fit, Phillies wanna win and he wins everywhere he goes
Because everywhere he goes, he’s always had plenty of money spend. Lots of guys could win with the assets he’s had to work with. Put him in charge of the Indians for 2-3 years if you really want to judge his talent.
Yeah! The Marlins spend like they have money to burn!
Hes one of the best execs. No one else has one exec of the year twice or taken 3 different teams to the WS. He has 2 rings. That is rarified air as far as FO execs go.
won*
Good point, though he’ll need to have more of the approach he had in Detroit and Montreal.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
That doesn’t make any sense. How would you know if it’s a fit or not?
“Phillies roll dice & bet the farm on Dombrowski, literally!” More at 11:00
Over at a Rangers SB Nation blog, we were talking about what trades we thought Dombro would make first. This is what I came up with:
Phillies get: Gallo, Apostel
Rangers get: Stott, De Los Santos, and Morales
Y’all get a new CF with a great arm and range (who would also mash in CBP), and y’all also get a corner infield prospect with big power (probably ends up being a DH, but he can play 3rd pretty well now).
We get the headliner in Stott, who would slide right into the top 3 of our prospect boards, and who would probably be IKF’s heir. We get Los Santos for the pen. Finally, we get Morales as a good starting prospect (something rare in our system).
I don’t normally play around with the baseball trade values site, but they really like this move as well. Thoughts?
No. Chris Davis-lite doesn’t move the needle for the Phillies.
Gallo is not Chris Davis at all, dude
I said Chris Davis-lite and his numbers in his 20’s would disagree with you. Thanks for your input.
Prime Chris Davis on adderall > Joey Gallo
Yeah, Gallo can actually play a really good outfield. Not to mention that has swing path is a lot less “ride or die” then Davis’s, and he has a superb eye. Two different players.
That’s BS. You didn’t watch Davis earlier in his career. He put up numbers Gallo hasn’t reached yet. Gallo is maybe the most overrated player in baseball. He’s Texas’ problem.
One bad season doesn’t make him the most overrated player in the game. He still runs well, has good range, and can defend, he just didn’t hit well going into the new ballpark (as did literally everyone else on the roster). Next season he’ll pick up more of the quirks and angles of GLP and I’m sure he’ll be back to being a really good hitter.
Gallo also doesn’t have the mental illness Davis has and needs medication for. Not the same player, comp is rejected.
Waste basket comparison because you see a couple comparable stats from Gallo and Davis early work. That is not good evidence that Gallo will be what Davis is.
.208/.327/.499/.825
Couple comparable stats. Thank you for backing me up. Gallo will be lucky to be an effective player in his 30’s. Chris Davis-lite fits like a glove.
also if we’re talking about gallo’s bad season if it happened this year i would throw it out just like a lot of other mlb players. this year was an odd year and all stats should be taken with a grain of salt and kid is in his prime. i don’t follow the rangers but i here good things about him and gladly take on my team not like the cards have anyone who can hit other than goldy
Pretty sure Enyel de los Santos qualifies for minor league free agency this offseason.
he’s still under contract
Gallo plays the positions where the Phillies least need help.
Do y’all not need help in CF?
Not as much as we need in our pen, which is the problem with this trade.
This part made me laugh: “As Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca points out, that’s the most money handed out to a free agent so far this winter.” lmao.
We can guarantee 2 things.
1) The Phillies will make it to the World Series. They may not win it but they will get there.
2) They will be a smoldering dumpster fire, after an earthquake, forest fire and tsunami after he leaves.
Yes Dombrowski will get Phillies to WS.
He built model farm systems in Montreal and Miami with penny pinching ownership.
It Detroit and Boston where owners were very rich, with deep pockets.,
he followed ownership orders to pull out all the stops to “win now”….
Not his fault owners ordered him to trade everyone not bolted down to “win now”
Not a Phillies fan, so no real horse in this race… but Bohm and pieces for Arenado?
I’m not a Phillies’ fan, but I wouldn’t do that.
Nope. .260 career batting average away from Coors plus you can’t take on that huge contract and expect to fill other areas of need. Bohm looks ready and has years of control
Carrying Bryce and Arenado’s contract along with Wheeler. Lots of money. But if they did the deal I’m sure the Phils would want to shed Segura’s contract in the deal.
Contract swap? Segura for Andrus or Odor?
They’re trying to dump Segura’s contract though, not replace it.
I know….I am hopeless
If JD and CY were smart, they’d just dump him. It’s way better than replacing him with another high priced player who is in a rut. Dumping him creates a path for more youthful players anyways (Kim).
The idea is to alleviate some salary to whomever takes on Arenado. Segura obviously does not make as much, however Segura would be still considered a 3B and his salary offsets “some” of the money. It’s like Starlin Castro when the Yankees dealt for Stanton.
If anything, the Phillies should be going all-in on Realmuto, Bohm is fine for the next 3-5 years at 3B, at minimum. Arenado might also not be too big an upgrade, maybe even not at all if Bohm is better. We haven’t seen enough of Bohm but it would be extra silly to sell on him right now.
They control Bohm for 6 years…
Phillies would package Hoskins instead of Bohm.
No. The Phillies are already top heavy with large contracts. They need Bohm badly to be what he looked like in this shortened season. They really need their young, cheap talent to contribute and not be traded away.
Bohm is more valuable then Arenado on that contract
DD does not trade for HUGE contracts and he tends not to trade for rentals in the off season. He’s more likely to trade for underappreciated players, young players that have time on their contract, or can be extended. He will find players who can hit for average, that stat that many consider obsolete, and build a prolific offense.
I bet all those Phillies employees who got laid off right before Christmas are thrilled with this hire.
Great hire. DD fits this organization well, as the Phils drastically need to improve on player personnel decisions and development. Plus they are in win now mode. You cannot pull the plug on this operation, they need to double down and bring back JT or go get Yadier and bring a winner to that clubhouse. Think people are undermining the value of Didi Gregorius, and that they should seriously consider bringing him back. If not, maybe Marcus Semien on a pillow contract? Liam Hendricks, Brad Hand, Tyler Clippard and a slew of risk free minor league or low base major league signings with potential upside (Wade Davis, Tyler Chatwood, etc) to fix the bullpen. Joc Pederson to replace Jay Bruce and a LH hitting corner infielder (on the cheap) that can play 3B or 1B (with Bohm playing the other corner) until Rhys comes back (Tommy LaStella, Jake Lamb). Go get Cole Hamels to appease the fanbase and provide some balance to an all RH starting rotation and call it a day DD!
I’d also make a call to the Twins and Orioles to see about the availability of Byron Buxton and Austin Hays. Both would fit this club so well in CF as a right handed conpliemt to Hasely, that can start 60-70% of games there. If the price is too high, a guy like Kevin Pillar makes a lot of sense. Let’s just hope they have some kind of a plan now going forward because it was looking real shaky there for a sec.
This means that a huge firesale , and rebuild is about to happen. Only players who are safe is Bohm, (Harper, Wheeler) and even Harper and wheels are questionable. Anything can happen from here on out
Other than McCutchen, Neris, Hale and Segura who can they even sell? No. They are too generally young to go into sell mode. No one’s touching Harper’s contract and they said they aren’t trading Wheeler. I’m thinking they add, not subtract.
Every team across MLB took revenue losses last season. I’m not saying Harper and Wheeler will be. Their farm system has been a complete bust, worse in probably all of baseball. I think personally they want to rebuild from the ground up “properly”. I could be wrong. But I never said the Dombrowlski was a bad pickup
I think that’s likely, but some are seeing it the other way.
If Dumbrowski’s MO in the past is any indication, it means the exact opposite. It means the Phillies will be players for all the top FA this offseason and next and that you can expect some players you like going away for players you will like even better.
Dombrowski’s “MO” was dictated by Ownership.
In Montreal and Florida he built with farm systems and trades
(penny pinching owners).
In Detroit and Boston, billionaire ownerships ordered Dombrowski
to “win now” so he DD spent, traded and won.
@sportsfan. He was directed by ownership two times in a row and neither time was his own methodology? Could you provide a link proving your assertion because I feel like you are asking a lot of us to take your word for it. Not trying to be a little punk at all. If your statement can be proved than the truth is what it is.
Yes he has: Expos best record in baseball before strike derailed WS
Marlins: built 2 championship teams (2nd won after he left for Detroit)
Took over a 119 loss Tigers ballclub and had them in the World Series in 3 years (2006, 201`2), Boston won WS 2008
GOOGLE IT.
It is common knowledge in MLB that the Montreal Expos and the Oakland A’s ran the lowest payrolls in MLB for Decades. Ownerships would not/could not spend money.
Dombrowski worked with the penny pinching ownership budgets he was given in Montreal and worked the Drafts and trade markets to
great success(not free agents).
In Miami, another low budget operation well documented, Dombrowski had another low budget. He worked drafts, trade market and limited free agents.(common knowledge of Marlins as a low spending franchise since they joined the NL as an expansion franchise. After the 1997 WS title team(built be Dombrowski), Owner Wayne Hzeinga(sp) ,former owner of Blockbuster and Waste Disposal systems (Owners) ordered a complete Marlins payroll purge or fire sale with Dombrowski in charge to cut payroll to the bone so Wayne could sell the Marlins for the most $$$$. Dombrowski traded everything and every p[ayer possible and built the nucleus for the 2004 World Series Champion (that was won after he left for Detroit.
In Detroit and Boston, Dombrowski was given over 200M payrolls (more that 150M more than Dombrowski’s budgets in Montreal and Miami)..In smaller market Detroit, billionaire Pizza magnate Mike Illitch wanted to win a WS title before he died and took huge yearly payroll losses to field a 200M+ team in small market Detroit.
In Boston, Dombrowski was hired to “win now” as orders from his billionaire owner and franchise worth over 3B. Dombrowski did what he was ordered to do “win now” , trades, free agents, drafts etc.
All this info is “common knowledge in MLB and the Industry.
GOOGLE IT!!!
Montreal, Miami, Oakland, Tampa are well known smaller market, smaller payroll teams for a long time in MLB. It forced them to either trade and fire sale their stars entering arbitration and free agency years and continually rebuild and;/or re tool on the fly.
Billy Beane and “moneyball” and the rise of statistical analysis and finding lesser drafted, lesser heralded prospects and players was a creative development starting with the A’s and Billy Beane with smaller, lower budget markets trying to compete with the big budget, big payroll teams like the Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox etc…
Dombrowski has shown success with both lower budget, lower payroll teams (Expos and Marlins) and bigger budget, bigger payroll teams like the Tigers and Red Sox.. Dombrowski’s has proven that he has the skills to work sucessfully with both small and large market revenue teams.
DD does have a MO. He reads what works at the time. Current working philosophy is buy pitching build hitting. Cubs, Astros and Red Sox all won using the same philosophy. The Dodger win doesn’t really count since Friedman cut an under the table deal with Bloom for Mookie and it wasn’t a full year. If they win in 2021, then an argument can be made that building a farm system helps win championships but the key factor to put them over the top was a suspicious mentor/protege deal. Like Jeter giving Stanton to the Yankees for less than full market value..
No team with a top ranked farm system has won in over a decade. So DD graduates his good farm players and trades his over-rated farm players. Both Kopech and Moncada had talent but they were over-rated and got the Red Sox Chris Sale, an elite SP. DD doesn’t burn down farm systems, he prunes the over-rated and promotes the worthy. Anderson Espinosa still has done anything for SD but Pomerantz not only helped Boston win a ring but has gone on to be a valuable bullpen addition. Quality for hype is DD’s mantra. Trading prospects effectively is a huge asset to any organization. Farm rankings are meaningless, point in time evaluations based on guesses as to who will produce in the future and they are more often wrong than right. Want to evaluate a farm system, count the number of players are home grown in the starting line-up. If you look at the Red Sox line-up in 2018, you had Betts, JBJ, Benny, Devers, Bogaerts, Chavis, Vazquez as graduated farm system guys. That’s a great farm system. It’s not bare now, it’s replenishing like it should. Spreading the graduates over time is the key to the success and DD gets that. Watch his moves coming in the next two months. The players will be top of the order adds and he’ll keep quality guys like Realmuto. He’ll deal a minor leaguer or two who is over-rated and the Phillies will win the East with Girardi doing his magic.
I’m not a Phillies fan but I am quickly becoming one with adding both Girardi and DD.
You don’t need to prove DD has done all this. You should prove that Dombrowski was pushed by ownership to trade everything and that this ISN’T his preferred method. All you have to do is post a link for THAT. It’s not my view so I’m not going to google anything. It’s your job to prove your point.
Or you can look at Dombrowski’s total body of work and stop doubting a proven winner. It is laughable that people shoot down DD’s accomplishments while many organizations would be thrilled to see their MLB squad reach and win a World Series. You don’t have to use google to know Dombrowski is a proven winner and should be enshrined in Cooperstown with a hair game on another level.
His best asset is his ability to adapt given the circumstances of the team he is on.
I don’t have to prove anything to anyone!
And, I will not do your homework for you!
Use Google and other internet sources including your own critical thinking and analysis.
Low budget Montreal and Miami: Dombrowski built farms and consistent World Series contenders with 30M- 50+M payrolls.
High budget teams Tigers and Red Sox (200M+)
Dombrowski built World Series Contending teams including 2008 World Series Champion and 3 Division titles in Boston
in 4 years
and a Detroit Tigers 10 year run of World Series contending teams.2006 and 2012 American league champions and 7 Division titles.
Want more info?!
Then, do your own research…
I don’t have time to teach a class on how to build an MLB
World Series contending team etc…
the composition of the team is not conducive for that. who are they trading that isnt paid a lot? going to be hard to dunp expensive players this offseason for any real benefit.
Now that’s some pretty straight shootin buckaroo, there’s a new sheriff in town & things ain’t never gonna be the same
Phillies, doing everything to rate lower than the Mutts this off-season.
If you think this is a bad hire you’ve got to be an absolute idiot.
All you have to do is look at the Phillies’ system and Middleton’s incompetence to know that they’re going to suck miserably for most of the next fifteen years. One way or the other, they’re going to need an organization wide tear down and rebuild. They’re going to need it because both Amaro and Klentak were horrifyingly bad at bringing in young talent either through the draft or through the international market. It’s that simple. There is no way this team can compete for a sustained period. It’s impossible. So the question is, do they blow it up now, or do they throw everything they have at putting together two or three or four winning years before they start sucking, while they have Harper, Hoskins, Bohm, Nola, Wheeler, and Howard in their primes.
Dombrowski’s the guy who can put together those 2-4 winning years. Dombrowski’s the guy, if there is a guy in all of MLB, who can catch lightning in a bottle.
I’m in for that. A couple great years, and damn the decade after that. It might not be perfect, but it’s the best we can hope for no matter who they hire.
Excellent.
That’s about the Phillies in a nutshell…well done..
Huh. I just posted a long post coincidentally saying much of the same things you did in different ways. It does seem like D.Doms worst attributes are moot at this point. Don’t know that we have to call each other idiots but still, good post.
Dombrowski got a “bad rap” in Detroit…Some of those free agent signings were by owner Mike Illitch. Some agents negotiated directly with Illitch and signed players Dombrowski said he did not want to sign because they were not a fit for the team he was building(Prince Fielder)..
Dombrowski took a 119 loss Tigers team and built a 10 year run
of World Series contenders.
And carried heavy contracts from his predecessor in Higginson, Clark and Easley. Took his time, built the farm, drafted, signed some players (I-Rod, Vina, Magglio etc.). 119 losses to the World Series in 3 years is impressive.
With the money a desperate Mike Ilitch poured into the team. How does the 10-year Miguel Cabrera signing look now?
Miggy was an Illitch move, not DD. The extension did tie DDs hands at the end.
Hate to tell you but scouting and drafting are the scouting directors job, not the GMs. The GM relys on the recommendation of the scouting directors. I know people want to blame Klentak and Amaro for everything they can possibly think of, but draft choices are a group consensus and not the GMs decision ONLY. Most GMs have little to do with the draft. Look up the responsibilities of a GM and of a scouting directors. Research is easy.
In a vacuum, you’re right. But the Phillies under both Amaro and Klentak had a systemic problem of talent evaluation. They didn’t draft well, they didn’t evaluate international players well and when it came to restocking the system through trades, for instance when the got rid of Cliff Lee or Hunter Pence or Cole Hamels, they didn’t do well there either. Now I don’t know who all was at fault for that. I’m sure there are a lot of people who contributed to stocking the system with a whole lot of nothing over a decade. But, when there is systemic failure in any business that goes on for period of years the buck eventually has to stop with someone and that someone is the person who’s primarily calling the shots.
So while you are certainly right that no individual bust of a player is the fault of Amaro or MacPhail or Klentak, it’s absolutely the fault of those three men for fostering systems of talent evaluation that has selected and developed fewer than 5 legitimate star players in the last 12 years.
Then there is Rizzo who has effectively run the scouting department in AZ and DC. he is most definitely at the center of those decisions in DC. A lot of it has to do with the owners vision and the negotiations at the time of the hiring. GMs responsibilities vary wildly form team to team as a result.
“They’re going to need it because both Amaro and Klentak were horrifyingly bad at bringing in young talent either through the draft…”
This is why you hire a DD type of GM. I disagree that it will take a full top to bottom tear down. The state of the division right now is that health is more of a determining factor than talent in making the playoffs. The damage done by the top down approach can be mitigated by one or two veteran trades and a real commitment to signing most or all of your draft picks, especially at positions of need.
Under the right circumstances the Phils can be competitive this year (with luck) but I see a one to two year window of restocking the farm and then they should be on a more even footing with the rest of the division.
Wait til DD see’s Harpers contract. He’ll grabbing his chest while trying to dial 911.
As if he wasn’t already aware. And the AAV isn’t bad.
Phillies are making money on Harper through branding and marketing. I would have chest pain giving Realmuto 25 mil. He’s just a good player.
Exactly this. Why the hell is it so hard for people to understand that Harper’s one of the 2 or 3 most marketable players in the game which makes him a tremendous asset. God folks, this is business 101.
I would have chest pains giving Hoskins a raise
The one thing you’ll get from DD is honesty, which is refreshing. The other thing Phillie fans will have to get used to is that DD does a lot of things; sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. As he said in his BoSox days, “it’s baseball, not crystal ball”.
But it won’t be boring. And he wins; that’s undeniable. Great hire.
Dombrowski got a “bad rap” with the Red Sox.
Dombrowski is usually hired as “Team Pres”.
I think Sam Kennedy and Dombrowski did not get on and
that is what lead to him leaving Boston.
That’s very possible, Kennedy being more the money man than most of them are…I mean, they ALL are, it’s just that Sam’s eyes are on the immediate bottom line more than most.
Gotta love when reporters asked him if he’s going to re-structure the team, or try to compete immediately. It’s Dave Dombrowski, fool!; you can do BOTH at the same time.
And he will.
Well done Phillies for hiring Dave Dombrowski. Now the Phillies are relevant. Now they have a shot.
Picking up D.Dom was unexpected because it didn’t look like a fit for the two sides, but I’m warming to the idea. Dombrowski left the Tigers in a rebuild, he left the Red Sox in a rebuild. They were left with contracts that were sunk and untradable or at least difficult to trade.
That is the downside of Dombrowski but what do the Phillies really need to be concerned about? Those large contracts that are going to be dead weights in 4 years are already there. Their farm system is already close to depleted that if he DOES use Medina in a trade, how damaging is it really?
I think the Phillies building a team that consistently contends year after year far into the future is a ship that has sailed. Their farm as it is won’t support that. So maybe Dombrowski is a move to get at least ONE championship out of this rebuild because we at least know D.Dom can do that.
The Phillies just became one of the most interesting teams to watch, now. I’m really curious to see what Dombrowski does with this team.
Bunch of BS about either team being in a rebuild after DD left. The ownership CHOSE to dismantle a viable organization. The Red Sox are idiots giving up Mookie and hiring a small market GM. Detroit destroyed it’s own future after DD left. Why move JD Martinez when you have Cabrera. The downhill happened after he left both places. Boston won’t win for years, especially with the cheater as their manager. They are done as an organization and Philly is now on the rise. DD is a great add to compliment Girardi.
Lots of possibilities. Dombrowski “rebuilt on the fly” with trades
between his 2006 Tigers World Series team and his 2012 Tigers World Series team. He once had a rotation of ” Verlander, Scherzer, Price, Sanchez etc…all except Verlander with trades..
DD is a polarizing figure. He seems to generate strong feelings regarding his preferred business model. Regardless of how you feel, DD immediately makes the Phillies relevant. And he is good for baseball. MLB needs more people like him right now.
Please stop gushing.
This is the highlight of the Redsox Winter Meeting week…and it didn’t have anything to do with them. I’ve read more articles on this and the Sox NOT interested in bringing back Lester for some unknown reason. Bloom has to be the most boring POBO in all of baseball.
Edit: Adding that regardless of how you feel towards DD, he is a friggin blast to watch work.
DD is an instant winner and Bloom is a loser. He’ll be gone long before the winning sustainability ever occurs. It is far more likely the only sustainability Bloom will create in Boston is losing.
He’s looking like Prince Charles
This will end quickly
Solid move hiring a baseball guy that sees talent instead of putting an equation in a computer and getting the best player. Maybe he will realize Rhys Hoskins absolutely stinks and get value for him
If Dombrowski is in Philly then Rick Porcello isn’t far behind…
Actually, DD traded porcello away from DET, and, chose not to extend his deal in ST of that final year despite expressions from rick’s camp saying he wanted to at a team discount.
Then, DD was let go and the agm braintrust chose not to resign rick and then bloom took over.
Point is, DD traded porcello away and declined to engage on an extension despite overtures from the player/agent interested in doing so.
He won’t be bringing him to philly unless it’s some crazy cheap 2m deal.
Dave Dombrowski and his Assistant Al Avila also discovered and signed Miguel Cabrera as a 16 year old. Willy Adames was a top Tigers SS prospect drafted and signed by Dombrowski and traded for David Price…Drew Smyly, Curtiss Granderson, was drafted by Dombrowski..Closer Cory Kneibel(sp?), SP Jair Jurjens, Chad Green, Eugenio Sujarez the list is long of prospects drafted by Dave Dombrowski that went on to have successful major league careers..
Hm, which Phillies player currently under contract will he re-sign for no reason?
One of Dave Dombrowski’s great trades
On Dec. 8, 2009, the Arizona Diamondbacks sent pitcher Max Scherzer to the Detroit Tigers as part of a three-team trade with the New York Yankees.
Arizona acquired pitchers Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson in the deal. The Tigers also landed Daniel Schlereth, Phil Coke and Austin Jackson. The Yankees got Curtis Granderson.
I expect Dave Dombrowski to make a few blockbuster deals with the Phillies to get the ball rolling. I can see Segura going out, maybe Wheeler for the right package…
Even Bryce Harper could be dealt for the right returns..The .Phillies need top young players and major league ready prospects and DEPTH. And, keep an eye on the Phillies Drafts….and international signings.
Bryce Harper to the Dodgers for David Price and a package of young players/prospects?!
JD Martinez may come over to play 1B or RF when he “opts out” or plays out his contract….etc. The possibilities are out there.
Ridiculous.
LOL..I said that out loud b4 I read your reply..so funny
Harper has a no trade clause and a horrendous length deal. Good luck with that.
No way JDM opts out, and, with his defense no way he plays RF. His bad feet and durability mean no 1B.
He’s a DH that you find a spot on the field during occasional interleague games to keep the bat in the lineup. Other ones you just use as scheduled rest days.
JDM is also back to the atrocious batting line once he lost access to live in game video to look for signs/pitch tipping by the opposing pitcher.
SportsFan0000 Odds are if the Phillies hired D Dom they aren’t planning any sort of rebuild phase, he’s a win now minded exec. They’ll be looking to add the right pieces around guys like Harper and Wheeler, not tear down their current core. Dombrowski doesn’t rebuild farm systems, he depletes them to win in the short term.
Dombrowski built farm systems in Montreal and Miami.
He will do what he and the Owner agreed to as the Phillies Plan
during interviews and negotiations.
My guess is that it will be a little of both.
Some Trades.
Drafts.
International free agents.
Some bargain free agents
Waiver wire
You name it, they will do it to win,,,
I watched his press conference and, I have to say, I like what he had to say. Seems like he’s coming into this at a good angle and with a smart head. I mean, I’d rather have him and his pedigree than RAJ or Klentak. I guess that makes me an optimist, and I don’t like that.
I’m happy for the Phillies fans and organization. DD is a winner, plain and simple, and he proves over and over that he can work with what he’s given and eventually build a team that’s capable of winning a World Series. Paired with Joe Girardi, it’s hard to see that they won’t be driven to succeed. However they choose to build the Phillies, whether it’s draft, develop, trades, free agency, analytics-based acquisitions, or a combination of all methods, I’m convinced this is a good day for the Phillies. It’s also good for baseball that DD will be creating headlines as he always has. The whole industry is waking up to the new economic realities, so to hire one of the best and most versatile Baseball Ops leaders of the last 30 years (up there with Gillick, Schuerholz, Epstein, Cashman, Friedman, etc) is a pure win for Philadelphia. This is future HOF executive, so let’s enjoy watching him work again.
Dombrowski is a first ballot Hall of Fame Executive even before he joined the Phillies.
Nice to have a “gunslinger” Pres/GM.
Some of these teams put everything through analytics and won’t make any decision without over reliance on their computer analyses.
Dombrowski uses all the tools in his tool box.
If Phillies want to build depth,, fill holes, spend money, there are a lot of free agent bargains that could get them in the playoffs in 2021 like Closer Brad Hand, like #1 Starter Trevor Bauer and a few more INF/OF hitters and Defenders.
Will they re sign JTR?! or jump in on James McCann
(Drafted by Dombrowski in Detroit).and save $$$$ to fill other holes on the team?!
It will be very interesting and entertaining to watch!
Middleton still has to shell out for a bullpen add a couple more starters if he wants this team to be any good. the Phillies used to have a good farm system. Maybe he could get more people in the pipeline and develop them.
What I think is the real shame is that the Phils have had the ability to win over the last three years and have collapsed at the end each time. That wasn’t the fault of the front office. I don’t think it was really the fault of Kapler (he did play a part), but blame it on the players. They gagged, they choked. They were not winners. Player changes were in order. Bad luck played a big part with some of the trades/signings going south immediately. Snake bit team from the top down. They are no different than the NY Knights……until Roy Hobbs came along………and too bad, but Bryce is not Roy Hobbs…..even though he gets paid a lot more. I am thinking that the pitching will turn around this year because it can’t get worse…….the offense will be the problem….without JT and DiDi, I am afraid the runs will be a lot more scarce. Should be an interesting season……but one that will still end up with the Phils drinking beer and watching the playoffs from home on their big screens.
Phils did not draft enough breakthrough players and did not have enough player depth to open their window of contention…They stalled many players short of a World Series team….drafting was below average….Trades were questionable…Would you rather have Sixto in the rotation?!
In DD, we trust! Sell the farm. Contend again!
The farm is already rated low for a team just opening a contention window.
Whatever Dombrowski does would be an improvement over the former regime
This is good news for Phillies fans. Dombrowski is a move towards stability for a team that has either been changing the organizational plan or the leadership expected to execute that plan for the last half a decade.
As a Nats fan it’s good news because it makes the division stronger. With a reestablished Braves team, a Marlins team with a lot of emerging talent and a solid guiding hand in Jeter, a Mets team that has shed some injury proned payroll and is in the hunt for significant signings it looks like the division will be much better off relative to the rest of the league.
Good luck Dave but you are definitely going down when you get to DC
LOL
It would be funny if he goes rogue and immediately trades for Arenado and signs realmuto…. they bust into his office, hair all up in the air… eyes bugged out… “I couldn’t help it…. I had to.”
Arenado isn’t needed. Bohm is the real deal. He will surpass Arenado in the rankings within a couple of years. Use the money for Bauer. Didi Gregorious at SS makes sense, trade Segura, acquire Le Mahieu and your infield is Hoskins, LeMahieu, Gregorious and Bohm with an outfield of Harper, Quinn/Haseley and Cutch. SPs of Bauer, Nola, Wheeler, Eflin and Velasquez gets you into the post season with a monster top 3 for the playoffs. The bullpen needs a cheap Yates who will bounce back and you have a WS contender. So the critical positions to fill are SS, 2B, with LeMahieu and Gregorious, Then sign Bauer for 2021 and Yates. That’s not a lot of spending considering how far so many other teams would need to go to be assured of a deep post season run. Of course, Harper and Hoskins will need to hit and the team needs to stay healthy. No reason you can’t see Philly win the East and beat LA to make the World Series and since the National League is now the stronger league, no reason Philly can’t win it all.
If there is leftover money available, grab Springer for CF and that would lock things down for 2021.
Bye Bye Phillies Farm System…. just look at his track record…. maybe get a playoff but gonna destroy Phillies for years to come… he was the last guy left so they offered him the job.. #BADHIRE
Actually, Dombrowski was the 1st guy they offered. He turned them down once already. The other guys took a look at the roster and farm and passed.
McPhail and Middleton “circled back” and offered Dombrowski a second time.
League office said no expansion franchises for at least 2 years so Nashville is in a holding pattern…
Who cares about farm systems? Championships are forever. Go for it all right now.
Time for a few muses..
Someone earlier said no one would take Harpers contract..First, the Phillies are not moving Harper and if they did, his contract is a non issue.
I saw the Aranado comment and the reply about Bohm..I love Bohm and he will be a stud hitter for years…however, his D is bad at 3rd..If by some miracle Aranado was in the mix, I can see Rhys being moved and Alec over at 1st.
Also, pholks, do not be surprised to see Goofy back in center..he is under contract, and it’s been 2 years..sorta…Roman can’t stray on the field, and Hasely is just okay..
Harper is probably a “keeper”,
However, every Pres/GM worth his or her salt will listen to any and all offers on any player on the roster.
If the Dodgers or some other team (loaded farm systems) offered a huge package for Harper, Dombrowski would not hang up the phone if the package would help the Phillies back to the World Series in a few years.
Harper is a Stanton situation. Any trade is a salary dump