Dave Dombrowski, who won a World Series title in 2018 as president of baseball operations for the Boston Red Sox, only to be fired the following season, has been hired to fill the same position with the Philadelphia Phillies. Chris O’Meara/Associated Press file
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies have hired longtime baseball executive Dave Dombrowski as president of baseball operations, according to two people familiar with the decision.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday night because the team hadn’t announced the move. An official announcement is expected Friday, according to one of the people.
Andy MacPhail is the Phillies’ current president and has planned to retire after the 2021 season. He said in October he would be willing to step aside sooner to make way for a new baseball operations boss.
Dombrowski has led baseball operations for Montreal, Miami, Detroit and Boston, winning World Series titles with the Marlins in 1997 and Red Sox in 2018.
Dombrowski, 64, was fired by Boston in September 2019 amid a disappointing follow-up to the championship run.
Dombrowski is known for aggressively acquiring established major league talent, both by spending on free agents and trading away top prospects. He’ll take over a franchise unlikely to do much of the former in the near future because of existing big contracts and the burden of the coronavirus pandemic.
A person familiar with the Phillies’ finances told the AP last week the team lost $145 million during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season played without fans. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team hadn’t officially released the figures.
The Phillies signed slugger Bryce Harper to a $330 million, 13-year deal in 2019, and they have millions more tied up in deals for Zack Wheeler, Andrew McCutchen, Jean Segura and Aaron Nola.
Philadelphia finished 28-32 last season, one win shy of ending a nine-year playoff drought. The Phillies haven’t had a winning season since taking five straight division titles, two National League pennants and one World Series crown from 2007-11.
RED SOX: Boston added another minor league pitcher to the organization on Thursday, drafting Garrett Whitlock from the New York Yankees with the fourth overall pick in the Rule 5 draft.
Whitlock, 24, is a 6-foot-5 right-hander who is coming off Tommy John surgery. He posted a 3.07 ERA with 57 strikeouts and 18 walks in 70 1/3 innings for Double-A Trenton in 2019.
“We are willing to take this pick knowing we’re going to have to carry him the entire year,” said Sox vice president of scouting Gus Quattlebaum. “We think now that he’s healthy, he’ll be able to carry a real load, whether it be out of the pen or in the rotation, if need be.”
Whitlock’s biggest strength is inducing ground balls.
“He keeps the ball on the ground,” Quattlebaum said. “So the way we defend, the way we shift, I think that can play well in our hands, where he can keep the ball on the ground, especially with the way balls are flying out at an alarming rate.”
Pittsburgh took right-hander Jose Soriano from the Los Angeles Angels with the first of 18 picks in the major league phase of the draft – for players not protected on 40-man rosters.
Like Whitlock, Soriano missed last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
A team pays $100,000 to the club it selects a player from but must keep him on its active roster for all of next season or put him on waivers. Then, if he clears, he must be offered back to the previous club for $50,000.
In the minor league portion of the draft, the Red Sox selected Double-A first baseman Tyreque Reed from the Texas Rangers and Double-A right-hander Kaleb Ort from the Yankees.
WHITE SOX: Outfielder Adam Eaton is returning to Chicago, finalizing a one-year contract that guarantees $8 million.
Eaton gets $7 million next season, and the White Sox have an $8.5 million option for 2022 with a $1 million buyout.
Eaton played for the White Sox from 2014-16 before he was dealt to the Washington Nationals in a trade for three pitchers, including Lucas Giolito. The Nationals declined their option on Eaton for 2021 after he hit .226 in 41 games this past season.
TRADE: Infielder Nate Lowe was traded from the AL champion Tampa Bay Rays to the Texas Rangers in a deal that included four minor leaguers – one going to the Rangers and three going to the Rays.
Lowe, 25, hit .224 with four homers and 11 RBI in 21 games this past season. A first baseman and third baseman, he has a .251 average with 11 homers and 30 RBI in two seasons.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.