New president Dombrowski considers team ‘a retool, not a rebuild’
Dave Dombrowski has an impressive track record as a president of baseball operations and/ or general manager.
Dombrowski won a World Series as general manager of the Marlins in 1997 and as president/GM of the Red Sox in 2018, in addition to guiding the Tigers to two World Series appearances (2006 and 2012) as Detroit’s president/GM.
With the Phillies announcing Friday afternoon that they’ve hired the 64-year-old Dombrowski as president, does that mean managing partner John Middleton and management will nowbewilling to spend money after reports that the team lost roughly $150 million last season and didn’t plan to sign any significant free agents?
Maybe.
Catcher J.T. Realmuto is a free agent and wants a longterm deal at more than $20 million per season. He might be the best catcher in baseball and outfielder Bryce Harper has openly campaigned for Realmuto’s return.
Realmuto’s departure seemed to be a fait accompli prior to Dombrowski’s arrival due to financial concerns with a 2021 payroll of $150 million at this point. Perhaps Dombrowski’s arrival can change the narrative.
During a 47-minute Zoom call Friday afternoon, Dombrowski said he has some financial flexibility but not an unlimited budget with the Phillies, though everybody in the organization wants to re-sign Realmuto.
Asked if there’s enough money to keep Realmuto and also supplement the roster, Dombrowski said he didn’t know the answer.
While Dombrowski’s goal is to win “this year,” he admitted the Phillies are more than one player away. But he also said “I consider it a retool, not a rebuild, for sure. We have too many good players on this club.”
He cited “star” right fielder Harper, as well as top-three starting pitchers Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler and Zach Eflin, as four of those “good players.”
Though his past suggests more of a win-now approach, Dombrowski’s goal is “to build an organization that can be competitive, year in and year out.” And he insisted “I love young players.”