CARLSBAD, Calif. — Dave Dombrowski has the most dramatic disassembling of a champion on his ledger.
In 1997, then-Marlins owner Wayne Huizenga claimed $30 million-ish in operating losses and was furious that the county would not finance a new stadium. He ordered his then-GM, Dombrowski, to trade all of his expensive players, who had just won the organization’s first title.
By midseason 1998, Dombrowski had traded — among others — Moises Alou, Bobby Bonilla, Kevin Brown, Jeff Conine, Charles Johnson, Al Leiter, Robb Nen, Gary Sheffield and Devon White, slicing the payroll from $53 million to $13 million. By the time John Henry bought the club from Huizenga after the 1998 season, it had lost a franchise-record 108 games.
This time, Dombrowski, Boston’s president of baseball operations, has Henry as the owner from the outset. And the payroll — a team record of about $238 million in 2018 — is likely to stay about the same and perhaps even go up, Dombrowski said. Still, Dombrowski conceded there are “tough decisions” this offseason and the near future because retaining the core for the next few years would probably blow the Red Sox payroll beyond $300 million, especially since they used many top prospects to add players such as Craig Kimbrel, Chris Sale and Drew Pomeranz and are not teeming with near-ready, inexpensive options to plug in.
“It is unrealistic to think we can keep the now-2018 champion Red Sox together,” Dombrowski said.
The Red Sox’s championship was timely because they are about to risk losing vital core pieces over the next few years. This offseason, closer Kimbrel and postseason stars Nathan Eovaldi, Joe Kelly and Steve Pearce are free agents. Next offseason, J.D. Martinez can opt out and join Sale, Xander Bogaerts, Rick Porcello, Mitch Moreland and Brock Holt in free agency. The next year, likely 2018 MVP Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. are up.
Of that group, Bogaerts and Betts perhaps feel most urgent to retain long term.
“There are definitely guys we want to keep, but I am sure Washington wants to keep [Bryce] Harper,” Dombrowski said. “It’s not easy. You can’t keep the same group together, but it doesn’t mean you can’t keep a championship-caliber team. We will never complain about finances. We have generous owners.”
Source: Read Full Article