From high to low: Ranking Dave Dombrowskis moves as Red Sox boss

Publish date: 2024-06-16

Within weeks of becoming Red Sox president of baseball operations in 2015, Dave Dombrowski made his intentions known. Hired in August, he traded for Craig Kimbrel in November and signed David Price in December. With that, he was off to the races with a win-now strategy that heaped high-profile additions atop a foundation of homegrown players.

Through trades, signings, releases, waiver claims and one managerial hire, Dombrowksi wound up making more than 40 major league moves during his four-plus years at the helm.

The Kimbrel and Price deals proved to be one of his best, and one of his worst.

In attempting to rank all of Dombrowski’s major league moves, we ignored minor league deals with guys like Marcus Walden and Ryan Brasier. While they had major league impact, they were no-risk decisions largely credited to the pro scouting department. Similarly, we ignored the decision to move Andrew Benintendi, Yoan Moncada and Rafael Devers quickly through the farm system. Dombrowski surely deserves some credit for that approach, but much more goes to the amateur scouts and player development staff which made such promotions possible. In reality, Dombrowski’s best move might be the one he didn’t make: holding onto Devers when there were surely opportunities to trade him away.

As for the moves he did make, here’s our ranking of Red Sox major league transactions of the Dombrowski era:

1. Extended Xander Bogaerts – April 1, 2019

The best move of Dombrowski’s tenure might be last long-term deal he struck. Given Bogaerts’ age, trajectory and homegrown appeal, the extension — for six years and $120 million — with the budding superstar is off to a tremendous start. Bogaerts could have been a free agent this winter, meaning he might have hit the open market coming off a season in which he’ll likely finish top five in MVP voting. Instead, the Red Sox have him under team control through 2025 (albeit with an opt-out in the middle and a team option at the end).

2. Traded for Craig Kimbrel — Nov. 13, 2015

Last year’s championship and the lack of immediate impact by any of these prospects make the Kimbrel deal — for Manuel Margot, Logan Allen, Javy Guerra and Carlos Asuaje — Dombrowski’s best trade. Kimbrel was shaky in the postseason, but he was an All-Star all three seasons in Boston. Meanwhile, Margot has not been the impact center fielder the Padres imagined, and the other three prospects have thus far been below replacement level (although Allen still has considerable upside). Given Kimbrel’s struggles in Chicago this season, Dombrowski perhaps gets bonus points for moving on when Kimbrel became a free agent.

3. Signed J.D. Martinez – Feb. 26, 2018

Throughout that offseason, the Red Sox signing Martinez seemed obvious, but the deal — for five years, $110 million — didn’t get done until spring training. When it was complete, Martinez promptly delivered his best David Ortiz impression with a 1.031 OPS and a league-leading 130 RBIs. He also raked in the postseason, and he’s been one of the game’s best offensive performers again this season. Further evidence that the contract is a good one: Martinez has the right to opt out after this season, and it’s unclear whether he’s better off staying or going. He seems to be compensated more or less right at market value.

4. Hired Alex Cora as manager – Oct. 21, 2017

This was not Dombrowski’s decision alone. Ownership obviously plays a large role in choosing a manager, but firing John Farrell after back-to-back division titles and replacing him with a first-year manager who immediately won 108 games and a championship has to rank near the top of Dombrowski’s Red Sox resume. Even in this disappointing season, Cora has remained a voice of stability.

5. Traded for Steve Pearce – June 28, 2018

A small move with giant impact. In need of a right-handed platoon hitter, Dombrowski capitalized on the strong season of a 10th-round pick and acquired Pearce, who proved a perfect addition to that championship roster, for Santiago Espinal. It’s hard to have a better four-month rental than one who wins the World Series MVP.

6. Traded for Nathan Eovaldi – July 25, 2018

This would not have been a particularly good trade — one in which the Sox surrendered Jalen Beeks — if not for last October. Eovaldi was great when he first arrived, then had a bad month and a minor injury before getting on track again in late September and becoming a star in the playoffs. Eovaldi’s postseason was enough to be worth giving up the organization’s most advanced piece of rotation depth.

7. Traded for Brad Ziegler – July 9, 2016

Did the Diamondbacks think they were getting the other Basabe brother when they sent Ziegler to the Sox for prospects Jose Almonte and Luis Alejandro Basabe? Luis Alejandro’s twin brother, Luis Alexander, was a highly touted prospect, but Luis Alejandro has never advanced above Class-A ball. Neither has the other prospect in this trade. Ziegler, meanwhile, had a 1.52 ERA through three terrific months with the Red Sox.

8. Traded for Chris Sale – Dec. 6, 2016

This was a massive outlay of young talent — prospects Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Alexander Basabe and Victor Diaz — but Sale had three years left on a remarkably team-friendly deal, and he delivered back-to-back sub-3.00 ERAs with a pair of top-five Cy Young finishes and the final out of the 2018 World Series. Pitchers like that don’t come cheap, and so far Moncada is the only involved prospect who’s had a real impact for the White Sox.

9. Re-signed Mitch Moreland – Dec. 18, 2017

Had some injury problems and lefties sometimes gave him fits, but in the course of this two-year, $13 million contract Moreland has hit 30 home runs, made an All-Star team and delivered one of the biggest hits of last year’s World Series when he came off the bench with a three-run homer to get the Red Sox back on track in the pivotal Game 4. As a bonus, he’s been a helpful mentor to Rafael Devers.

10. Claimed Doug Fister off waivers – June 23, 2017

Desperate for rotation help, the Red Sox plucked Fister right out of the Angels minor league system. From July 31 through Sept. 6, he had a 2.79 ERA over seven starts, five of them wins and one a complete game. Fister’s terrific month and a half coincided perfectly with the Red Sox moving up from second place to take control of the American League East.

11. Traded for Eduardo Nunez – July 26, 2017

Nunez arrived — in exchange for minor leaguers Shaun Anderson and Gregory Santos — in a burst of white-hot offensive firepower. He had 21 hits in his first 11 games with the Red Sox, including a 10th-inning walk-off in his second game. Nunez was exactly the short-term spark plug the Red Sox needed before a knee injury knocked him out of the postseason and largely derailed his career. It did come at a cost, though, as Anderson’s made 16 starts for the Giants this season and would have been a welcome bit of rotation depth in Boston.

12. Signed Mitch Moreland – Dec. 8, 2016

The deal that originally brought Moreland to Boston was this one-year, $5.5 million deal to form a kind of platoon with Hanley Ramirez.

13. Traded for Josh Taylor – March 24, 2018

Surely the pro scouting department deserves much of the credit for targeting Taylor, a lefty reliever who’s become a key piece of this year’s bullpen. At the time, it was clear Deven Marrero — whom they sent to Arizona — wasn’t going to make the Red Sox roster and thus his value was at a bare minimum, yet Dombrowski still got a viable major leaguer in return.

14. Signed Chris Young – Dec. 2, 2015

Young, on a two-year, $13 million deal, helped bridge the gap to Andrew Benintendi. He was a tremendous role player in 2016, but he wasn’t nearly as good in 2017.

15. Traded Clay Buchholz – Dec. 20, 2016

This was a salary dump when it seemed the Red Sox had too many starting pitchers, and the biggest upside was opening $13.5 million in payroll. The Phillies got only two games out of Buchholz.

16. Released Hanley Ramirez – May 30, 2018 | 17. Released Pablo Sandoval – July 19, 2017

Dombrowski did not sign either of these ugly contracts, but he paid both to go away. Dumping Sandoval was more costly — 2 1/2 years and roughly $48 million still owed at the time of release — but getting rid of Ramirez was more effective. Dombrowski followed Cora’s advice and cut Ramirez rather than part ways with a young player like Blake Swihart. With Ramirez out of the picture, the Red Sox found a place for Pearce.

18. Traded for Drew Pomeranz – July 14, 2016

Without Pomeranz, the Red Sox would not have made the 2017 playoffs. That one tremendous season came between a disappointing 2016 and a bad 2018, but it was enough to give him a solid 4.24 ERA and a winning record during his time in Boston. To get him, the Red Sox maximized the value of teenaged pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza. Perhaps they could have gotten more for him, but Espinoza wound up undergoing two Tommy John surgeries and hasn’t pitched since 2016.

19. Traded for Addison Reed – July 31, 2017 | 20. Traded for Fernando Abad – Aug. 1, 2016 | 21. Traded for Colten Brewer – Nov. 20, 2018

Three different trades in three different years for three different relief pitchers. None cost the Red Sox much in terms of impact prospects, and all had some level of impact. Reed did the most in a short amount of time (a 0.93 WHIP down the stretch), while 26-year-old Brewer still has time to establish himself with his cutter/curveball combination.

22. Traded for Carson Smith and Roenis Elias – Dec. 7, 2015

This one begins the no-harm, no-foul section of our rankings. This trade was massive disappointment, but we’ll call it a wash. The Sox sent pitchers Wade Miley and Jonathan Aro to Seattle at a time when Smith looked like one of the better young relievers in baseball, but he pitched just 23 2/3 major league innings after the trade. He had Tommy John surgery in his first year with the Red Sox, then blew out his shoulder slamming his glove in 2018.

23. Claimed Chase d’Arnaud off waivers – April 27, 2017 | 24. Traded for Rajai Davis – Aug. 23, 2017 | 25. Claimed Bryan Holaday off waivers – Aug. 5, 2016 | 26. Claimed Steve Selsky off waivers – Jan. 25, 2017 | 27. Traded Garin Cecchini to the Brewers – Dec. 10, 2015

A series of minor moves to add depth (or, in the case of Cecchini, get some money while opening a 40-man spot). All of these are basically zero-impact additions that came at no real cost, though perhaps d’Arnaud should be much higher on our list. The friendly utility man was with the team less than a month, played in only two games and had only one at-bat, but he went 1-for-1 with two runs scored. On a per-at-bat basis, he’s surely one of the most productive Red Sox in franchise history.

28. Extended Chris Sale – March 22, 2019

This one is cloudy, and it serves as a tipping point toward moves with diminishing returns. Sale’s extension — five years, $145 million — kicks in next season, and it may still prove to be a great one for the Red Sox. But the overpowering lefty with a Hall of Fame trajectory is currently on the injured list with a sore elbow, and he’ll finish this season with the highest ERA of his career. He turns 31 in March, and his velocity was mysteriously low early in the season. Sale does have a typically tremendous strikeout rate and one of the lowest WHIPs in the American League, so there are positive signs, but the first six months after the extension brought an uncomfortable number of red flags.

29. Signed David Price – Dec. 4, 2015

Price had played for Dombrowski in Detroit and was one of the most coveted free agents on the market. Dombrowski gave him the largest contract ever for a pitcher — seven years, $217 million — and he’s pitched to a 46-24 record with a 3.84 ERA, punctuated by a 2018 playoff performance that might have deserved World Series MVP honors. But his time in Boston has been complicated, to say the least. He’s been a lightning rod for controversy, and injuries have held him to 358 innings the past three years. For $31 million per year, he’s never been an All-Star or a top Cy Young finisher. Price probably has been better than he gets credit for, but Dombrowski bet big on him being one of the elite pitchers in all of baseball. That hasn’t happened.

30. Re-signed Nathan Eovaldi – Dec. 6, 2018

Similar to the Sale extensions, it’s hard to say anything definitive about this four-year, $68 million deal. The Red Sox clearly needed rotation help, so re-signing Eovaldi instead of Kimbrel had merit. Charlie Morton looks like a far better choice, but the free agent market didn’t offer many rotation alternatives. Glass half full: Eovaldi’s pitched pretty well lately. Glass half empty: This was another season partially lost to injury, meaning the Red Sox have committed themselves to three more years, at a massive salary, with a pitcher who’s only once thrown more than 155 innings and currently has a career-worst 5.77 ERA.

31. Acquired Michael Martinez for cash considerations – July 8, 2016 | 32. Selected Josh Rutledge in the Rule 5 draft – Dec. 8, 2016

Two small moves with negative returns. Martinez was purchased from the Indians to add versatility, but weeks later, the Indians claimed him off waivers to get him back at no cost. Rutledge was a relatively rare veteran Rule 5 selection who seemed to give the Red Sox much-needed depth at third base, but he put up poorer offensive numbers than Sandoval.

33. Released Eduardo Nunez – July 20, 2019 | 34. Released Tyler Thornburg – July 10, 2019

By the time the Red Sox pulled the trigger on these moves, both Nunez and Thornburg had played well beyond their usefulness. In both cases, it was best to move on, but the Red Sox already had held on too long. The decision to tender Thornburg one last contract offer cost the team $1.75 million that could have gone to any number of bullpen alternatives.

35. Traded Roenis Elias for cash considerations – April 23, 2018

This was a move to open a 40-man roster spot, and it involved a player who clearly had no role to play in Boston. But Elias wound up having a couple of decent years in Seattle and had some additional trade value at this year’s deadline.

36. Traded for Andrew Cashner – July 13, 2019

This was a low-cost attempt to improve the fifth starter situation, but Cashner performed so poorly out of the rotation that he’s currently in the bullpen while the team throws bullpen games every fourth and fifth day. Two things keeping this trade from being a total disaster: Cashner’s pitched much better out of the bullpen, and the prospect cost was a couple of teenagers — Elio Prado and Noelberth Romero — who are total lottery ticket wild cards. Organizations have dozens just like them.

37. Traded for Aaron Hill – July 7, 2016

Hill was having a nice bounce-back season in Milwaukee, and the Red Sox needed some right-handed infield depth. The trade didn’t cost much – prospects Wendell Rijo and Aaron Wilkerson, who has become an up-and-down depth arm for the Brewers – but Hill hit just .218 with two home runs during his half season with the Red Sox.

38. Traded for Ian Kinsler – July 30, 2018

Impossible to argue the end result. Kinsler was acquired to stabilize the team’s defense at second base, and he wound up being a regular at that position for a World Series run. But Kinsler had just a .604 OPS for the Red Sox, and he played only 37 games in the final two months of the regular season. His error in World Series Game 3 was, for a while, the most costly moment of the playoffs. Obviously it worked out, but surely not the way Dombrowski intended it. Meanwhile, reliever Ty Buttrey, sent to the Angels along with minor leaguer Williams Jerez, has become a good strikeout weapon for the Angels.

39. Re-signed Eduardo Nunez – Feb. 18, 2018

When Nunez got hurt at the end of 2017, the Red Sox lost a key spark plug at the top of the lineup. They tried to recapture that magic by re-signing Nunez the following winter for two years, $9 million, but it quickly became clear that his knee was worse than expected. Nunez was a wildly popular teammate and occasionally a bright spot on the field – his pinch-hit home run in the World Series was unforgettable — but he was released this summer with just a .644 OPS over the life of this two-year deal.

40. Re-signed Steve Pearce – Nov. 16, 2018

Two weeks after the World Series parade, the Red Sox pounced on an opportunity to re-sign their World Series MVP for one year at $6.25 million. The result has been the exact opposite of the previous year’s success. Injuries have limited Pearce to just 29 games, and he’s hit just .180 with a single home run. Meanwhile, both Michael Chavis and Sam Travis have emerged as in-house right-handed first baseman options. Think of the pitching depth the Red Sox could have added with that $6.25 million.

41. Traded Blake Swihart – April 19, 2019

In a vacuum, this trade, for minor league outfielder Marcus Wilson, was fine. It might even be a good one because Wilson is a legitimate prospect and Swihart hit so little in Arizona that he wound up designated for assignment. But the trade ranks so low on this list because it represents the bungled career of a once-elite prospect. Dombrowski was at the helm when Swihart moved to left field, hurt his ankle, and went through a long, uncertain path toward a cloudy future. No one seemed to ever know what to do with Swihart, and eventually Dombrowski did well to dump him for a Double-A outfielder. What a waste.

42. Traded for Tyler Thornburg – Dec. 6, 2016

Travis Shaw had fallen out of favor in Boston, and the Red Sox had myriad alternatives at third base, so they traded him as the headliner in a package for Thornburg as a cheap bullpen standout who filled a need. The logic made sense, but the end result was a mess. Thornburg missed all of his first Red Sox season, pitched to a 6.54 ERA the next two years and wound up released earlier this year. Meanwhile, Shaw had back-to-back 30 homer seasons in Milwaukee while Mauricio Dubon, another part of the prospect package, is currently a big league utility man in San Francisco.

(Photo of Dombrowski and Martinez: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

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