A week and a half after the abrupt dismissal of President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowksi, the Boston Red Sox remain a ship without a captain.
At this point, we know more about who won’t be the next boss in Boston than we know about who’s in the running. Ben Cherington, former Sox general manager and current vice president of baseball operations for the Toronto Blue Jays, is reportedly not being considered. Mike Hazen, another Sox alum and current GM of the Arizona Diamondbacks just signed a contract extension and is unavailable.
So who is a candidate?
This may be a long shot, but if I’m Red Sox principal owner John Henry, my first call is to Theo Epstein, the baseball boss of the Chicago Cubs.
Epstein held the role of GM in Boston from 2002 to 2011, serving as the architect of the team that broke the Curse of the Bambino in 2004. The Sox won again in 2007 and Epstein’s impact can still be felt more than a decade later.
During his time in Boston, Epstein was known for what 98.5 The Sports Hub personality Tony Massarotti recently described as a “long-term philosophy and short-term guts.” Epstein was a master when it came to building a farm system and he did it so well that the fruits of his labor are still benefitting the team. He drafted players like Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester and Jonathan Papelbon, plus Matt Barnes, Jackie Bradley Jr. and a little-known player named Mookie Betts.
But he had short-term guts, too. Epstein traded for Curt Schilling before the 2004 season and for Adrian Gonzalez in the winter of 2010. He parted ways with stars such as Manny Ramirez and Pedro Martinez at the right times, made high-profile signings such as Daisuke Matsuzaka and Carl Crawford and even discovered a young slugger by the name of David Ortiz. He also hired well, bringing Terry Francona aboard as manager.
There is no indication that either the Red Sox or Theo are interested in a possible reunion. This is purely speculation. But it makes a lot of sense, for both sides.
When he arrived in Chicago prior to the 2012 season, Theo had a vision. After his historic, curse-breaking tenure in Boston, he was determined to top himself and bring the first World Championship to Wrigley in what was then a century-long drought. In 2016, he did just that. He built a juggernaut team through excellent drafting and key veteran acquisitions. He broke the two largest curses in baseball history.
But just three years later, the Cubs have come back down to earth. They are fighting for a Wild Card spot for the second straight year and have little chance of making it deep into the playoffs. Manager Joe Maddon, once hailed as the game’s best, is likely on his way out sooner rather than later as well.
The Cubs are by no means rebuilding, but like the early 2010s Red Sox, it seems that Theo’s best work in Chicago is behind him. The team’s core is sure to be broken up shortly and the Cubs’ window as an elite contender is closing.
Meanwhile in Boston, the Red Sox are in dire need of a reliable boss. Dombrowski accomplished what he was hired to do, but he never felt like a long-term solution. Boston’s ownership has always favored executives who are familiar with the system and after having four GMs since 2015, the team could use some stability. Not to mention, Larry Luchinno, with whom Epstein famously clashed, is no longer an active part of the Red Sox ownership.
Despite Dombrowski’s success, he leaves the Sox in a precarious situation. The farm system is largely depleted and team cornerstones Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez and Rick Porcello could all depart this offseason. The Red Sox need a long-term blueprint to rebuild the organization without sacrificing the current, albeit fleeting, window of potential dominance.
Of course, Epstein is not the only baseball executive capable of implementing this two-faceted strategy in Boston. Given that the chances that this pipe dream becomes a reality are slim, it’s worth discussing other viable alternatives.
Tampa Bay Rays duo Erik Neander and Chaim Bloom are both attractive options, fitting the Epstein mold of intelligent, analytically-minded executives who successfully retooled the Rays with limited resources. Henry could also attempt to lure experienced GMs such as Billy Beane from Oakland or Chris Antonetti from Cleveland. Any of these four could jump at the chance to start fresh with a $240 million payroll.
There is also the chance that the Sox stay in-house. Raquel Ferreira, the team’s Senior Vice President of Major and Minor League Operations, is now the team’s top official, and is in her 21st year in the organization. She is the highest-ranking woman ever in a team’s baseball operations department during the regular season and is beloved and trusted in the Sox clubhouse. There is also the current trio of assistant GMs: Eddie Romero, Brian O’Halloran and Zack Scott.
Truthfully, it is entirely possible that the next GM of the Red Sox will be none of the aforementioned possibilities. If anything is certain, Henry and the Sox are very good at getting what they want. Dombrowski was a high-profile hire in 2015 and he quickly snatched up Alex Cora in 2017. Whoever the team views as its top option is sure to be pursued quickly and aggressively.
Henry’s strategic machinations aside, a potential Theo Epstein homecoming would be a natural fit. Theo is already a lock for the Hall of Fame. He is one of the most successful sports executives in history, and he remains a beloved figure in Boston. He grew up in Brookline and his father, Leslie Epstein, is a longtime professor here at BU.
Theo Epstein made history as the youngest GM in baseball history when he was hired by the Red Sox in 2002. After a seven-year stint in Chicago, 17 years later, Theo has the chance to return home to Boston and continue his legendary career where it all began.
