Future is now for Dombro
Tough decisions are on tap
CARLSBAD, Calif. — Lost in the discussion at the GM meetings of what happens if the Red Sox lose closer Craig Kimbrel is how what happens beyond next season affects this offseason.
That’s because the nucleus of this team has a oneyear shelf life the Red Sox need to address sooner than later.
Four players — Chris Sale, Rick Porcello, J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts — are guaranteed to be with the Red Sox for only next season before either their contracts expire (Sale, Porcello), they enter free agency (Bogaerts) or opt out of their deal (Martinez).
With Sale and Porcello in particular, the Red Sox may decide to enter the starter market now rather than wait for next year. Some of that is simply forward-thinking, while it could also reflect concern or ins urance over Sale’s shoulder and the two bouts of inflammation he had in 2018.
Regardless, don’t think for a second the 2020 season does not affect how the Red Sox make moves from here on out.
“It factors in — how much, we’ll wait and see,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said about the pending final seasons of Sale and Porcello. “We’ve got a lot of decisions to make. We’ve got Bogey for another year, Mookie (Betts) and Jackie (Bradley Jr.) a couple of years, so we’ve got some big numbers. We have great ownership, wherewithal, but still everybody has some limitations, too. We have to make some tough decisions but we’ll be prepared to keep a lot of our players, but I’m not sure which ones it will end up being as time goes on.”
The Red Sox have already expressed a desire to re-sign Nathan Eovaldi to a deal, but they will have plenty of competition. A backup plan will be necessary, and at this stage it is too soon to tell exactly how high-end the Red Sox’ list for starters will be. Free agents Patrick Corbin and Dallas Keuchel could wind up being too rich for the Sox’ tastes, which would mean they turns their attention to trades or some lesserknown, younger arms.
Dombrowski made it clear he did not wish to elaborate on the irritation Sale had or what his late-season MRI revealed.
“I’m not going to discuss that,” he said. “We’re comfortable with the MRI.”
Martinez can opt out after next season because the Red Sox placed contingencies in his contract concerning what they felt was a pre-existing foot injury. Dombrowski said he did not anticipate restructuring the contract.
Bogaerts, like Martinez, is a client of agent Scott Boras, who usually does not have players sign extensions before they can enter free agency.
“I’ve heard Scott do some earlier deals — not regularly but he does do it once in awhile, so we’ll find out as time goes on,” Dombrowski said. “He’s got a lot of big guys out there at this time so he has a tendency to focus on them. But Bogey is only one year away, so that’s important for us.”
Red Sox notes
Boras held court and was upset Martinez did not finish in the top three of votegetters for the AL MVP award. Betts, Mike Trout of the Angels and Jose Ramirez of the Indians are the finalists. The results will not be known until next Thursday, so there’s no way of telling yet how voters assessed Martinez’ season or how close he came to finishing in the top three.
“Can I get a list of the people who are accountable for casting a vote without doing the proper preparation to understand what went on with J.D.’s role?“Boras said. “This has nothing to do with Mookie or the other great players who had wonderful years that are in that group. It’s just that being involved with Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley and knowing what they’ve said to me and of course Alex Cora and the Cora-lytics concept, the idea of what J.D.’s role was, was beyond an MVP performance on the field. “I remember when (Kirk)
Gibson won the MVP (with the Dodgers) back in ’88,” Dombrowski added, “his numbers were not MVP numbers but his leadership and impact on the team was extraordinary where the writers were very well aware of it and there was recognition for it. I don’t know of any player at any time in my career that’s had a greater impact on a team apart from his performance with his leadership, influence in the locker room and the unique information he conveyed and his interaction with ownership and the coaching staff, I don’t know any player ever that’s had more of an impact on a team than what J.D. did in 2018.”
Dombrowski said the Six are “close” to naming a new manager for Triple-A Pawtucket.