The Boston Red Sox made headlines Tuesday night, announcing that they have hired highly-regarded executive Dave Dombrowski as their new president of baseball operations and that Ben Cherington will step down as general manager of the team.
Although Dombrowski was linked to the Red Sox shortly after the Detroit Tigers parted ways with him two weeks ago, the timing of the agreement came as a surprise throughout the league. The 59-year-old executive said he intends to start the job immediately, welcome news for the Red Sox, who have plenty of holes to fix on their team.
Of course, as indicated by Cherington's upcoming departure (the Sox said he would assist in Dombrowski's transition after turning down an offer to remain GM of the club), the move also creates some work for Boston. Dombrowski needs to hire a new general manager, in addition to determining what to do with many other areas of the team's current off-the-field structure. Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com lays out several positions that could see changes, including manager.
Current skipper John Farrell began chemotherapy for an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on Tuesday and it has already been reported that he will miss the rest of this season. Given the vote of confidence Farrell has received from team ownership in the past, Edes predicts that it is likely he will stay with the club.
As for general manager, Frank Wren has emerged as the leading candidate for the position, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. Wren worked in that capacity for the Atlanta Braves for seven years before being fired prior to the end of the 2014 season. Due to his familiarity with Dombrowski (the two worked together for years with the Montreal Expos and Florida Marlins), Wren appears to be a logical option for the job, Edes concurs.
Now, on to fallout regarding other teams. The Toronto Blue Jays had serious conversations about bringing in Dombrowski, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets, citing sources. Dombrowski was believed to be a possible candidate to take over for team president Paul Beeston, who intends to retire at the end of the season. Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners were next in line behind the Red Sox for the Dombrowski's services, Nightengale tweets.
Speaking of other teams, there's still plenty going on around the league that's worth discussing. Here are several of the top rumors making rounds today.
Cincinnati Reds: General manager Walt Jocketty tells John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that the team has had "zero conversations" with other clubs regarding any potential August waiver trades. Fay lists several trade candidates who would likely make it through waivers: Marlon Byrd, Skip Schumaker, Brayan Pena and Manny Parra. Although Jocketty claims there have been no discussions, he didn't rule out making a move before the season's end. "We just haven't done much yet," he said.
San Diego Padres: After standing pat at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, many around the league wondered if the Padres would be among the more active teams in terms of August trades. It appears, however, that two pitchers often mentioned as possible candidates to be dealt will remain put, as San Diego pulled Joaquin Benoit and Ian Kennedy off revocable waivers after both were claimed by other teams, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com writes. What that means is that the Padres were unable to work out a deal with the claiming team during their allotted 48-hour window, and now neither right-hander can be traded unless they are again placed on waivers. If either is placed on waivers a second time, San Diego won't have the luxury of being able to pull them back again. Both Kennedy and Benoit are free agents at the end of this season, meaning the Padres won't be significantly hurting their future if they decide to deal either. However, Kennedy is a potential (although, perhaps, unlikely) candidate to receive a qualifying offer, as Heyman notes. In case you missed it, the Padres sent outfielder Will Venable to the Texas Rangers in a trade on Tuesday.
Dexter Fowler: The Chicago Cubs outfielder cleared revocable waivers without being claimed, Nightengale tweets. If the team wishes to trade the 29-year-old, they can now do so to any team. Of course, dealing Fowler appears to be highly unlikely for the Cubs, who have fielded a winning team with him as their primary leadoff hitter. Not to mention, Fowler is in the midst of his prime and provides both power and speed on the basepaths. In fact, Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com believes Fowler is lining himself up for a big-money contract. The switch-hitter will be a free agent after this season, although he told Rogers he would be open to staying with Chicago. “I love it here,” he said recently. “Of course I would want to stay.”
