Phillies Rumors: Dave Dombrowski Named President of Baseball Operations

Dave Dombrowski, who won World Series championships with the Florida Marlins and the Boston Red Sox, has been hired as the Philadelphia Phillies' president of baseball operations, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman. 

Per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports, Dombrowski was reported to be in the running for the position back in October, though he "did not appear to be a serious candidate." 

The 64-year-old beat out former Marlins president Michael Hill, Dodgers senior vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes and Minnesota Twins general manager Thad Levine, who all interviewed recently, per Salisbury. 

The bulk of Dombrowski's career has been a 32-year stint in which he led baseball operations for the Montreal Expos, Marlins, Detroit Tigers and Red Sox from 1988 until 2019. That streak ended when he was fired by the Red Sox in September 2019, less than a year after he engineered a franchise-record 108 regular-season wins and a defeat of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

His next move saw him head to Nashville and sign a four-year contract with the Music City Baseball movement, which is working to bring an MLB franchise to the city. As recently as last month, Dombrowski said he was focused on his work as an advisor with the group. He told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that he had moved to Nashville in September and was building a house that would be ready by January. 

“I have a lengthy contract," he told Rosenthal. "But it’s also one of those where, because it’s speculative, it could fall apart. It’s not going to fall apart tomorrow. But as you get into next year, I don’t know what Major League Baseball is going to do." 

The move provides some answers for the Phillies in an offseason filled with uncertainties. The team is searching for a new general manger after Matt Klentak stepped down, and team president Andy MacPhail is not looking to renew his contract after this season and would step aside early if the team found someone for the role. 

In addition, J.T. Realmuto hit free agency and is the top catcher on the market. He's likely to command a deal that the Phillies don't want on the books as they attempt to save money, though with a history of bringing big names like JD Martinez and Chris Sale to Boston, Dombrowski has made it clear he isn't afraid to open a checkbook.