Boston Red Sox Part Ways with Baseball Operations President Dave Dombrowski

Boston Red Sox part ways with their president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. The decision came as a shock as it came after less than an year since winning the World Series.

“Four years ago, we were faced with a critical decision about the direction of the franchise,” Red Sox principal owner John Henry said in a statement. “We were extraordinarily fortunate to be able to bring Dave in to lead baseball operations. With a World Series championship and three consecutive American League East titles, he has cemented what was already a Hall of Fame career.”

The news came out immediately after the Red Sox’s 10-5 loss against the Yankees. They let Dombrowski go with one year left on his contract. Dombrowski ran front offices for the Expos, Marlins and Tigers before coming to the Red Sox, and he started his career with the White Sox in 1978.

The decision was tough for manager Alex Cora and his players to take.

“It’s a little frustrating, because we feel like if we would have done a better job, he’d still be here,” said Red Sox righty Nathan Eovaldi. “It all comes down to us. It’s our job to win and we haven’t been doing that up to this point, and we haven’t lived up to expectations that we had for ourselves. We have to try to finish strong.”

“It’s a new year,” said Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts. “Got to turn the page on that, and a lot of different things happened. A lot of things can change within the year and this is one.”

Ownership decided not to hold a press conference to discuss the decision to let Dombrowski go. Cora didn’t think it was appropriate to divulge whatever reasons ownership gave him for the change.

“I think the organization decided to move in a different direction just like it says in the statement,” Cora said. “I don’t think they have to go into details. I think the organization just decided that it was time to move on.”

The manager expressed confidence that things will run smoothly going forward.

“This organization has done amazing things for a while,” said Cora. “They have made changes throughout, and obviously people outside the walls of Fenway maybe don’t like it. Some of them, they do. But us, as people that work here, we’ve got to respect it.

“We’ll see what happens, we’ll see where we go, but I do believe we’re going to be fine. Obviously you see the track record of our ownership group. They’ve been very successful. Although it’s a tough day, at the same time, you trust that the decision that they made and whoever comes here is going to do the job and put us in a good spot.”

The members of the club felt Dombrowski was “special” and has been excellent for them.

“Dave will hold a special place in franchise history as a key architect of one of the greatest Red Sox teams ever assembled,” said chairman Tom Werner in a statement. “His willingness to make bold moves helped deliver our fourth World Series championship in the 21st century.”

President & CEO Sam Kennedy added, “Dave and I enjoyed a tremendous partnership these past four seasons. His baseball acumen and relentless pursuit of winning produced a season that will long be remembered by all of us.”