Dave Dombrowski’s job is pretty much done here.
I’m not running the guy out of town. I’m actually doing the complete opposite, pointing out that the success of this current Red Sox group no longer depends on front-office moves.
Dombrowski did his job. Now it’s time for the players to do theirs.
You can grade Tuesday’s non-waiver trade deadline however you want. You might not be giving Dombrowski an “A” but you certainly can’t give him an “F.”
The Red Sox enter their four-game series against the New York Yankees as a 75-win team. That’s the most wins in the Majors. Still, they had some needs before the trade deadline earlier this week. Rafael Devers’ injury led to rumors about an Adrian Beltre return to Boston. But that never happened.
Instead, Dombrowski sent a pair of Triple-A pitchers to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for second baseman Ian Kinsler on Monday night. The goal there is to have Eduardo Nunez and Brock Holt play third base while Devers is out. And with question marks surrounding Dustin Pedroia’s future, Kinsler will provide some stability at second, while also giving the Sox a veteran presence in the postseason.
Adding a 36-year-old Kinsler who was hitting .239 in 91 games with the Angels this year wasn’t the sexiest move in the league at the trade deadline. And neither was adding right-handed starter Nathan Eovaldi last week, while sending Triple-A starter Jalen Beeks to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Eovaldi and Kinsler are depth acquisitions. In a perfect world, Eovaldi doesn’t have a spot in the Red Sox postseason rotation, and Kinsler is riding the pine behind a healthy Pedroia. And compared to what some other World Series contenders did before the trade deadline, the Red Sox arguably made the least amount of noise.
You don’t have to look any further than the Yankees, who are in town all weekend. They traded for reliever Zach Britton and starter J.A. Happ. Britton and Happ are more than just depth pieces for the Yankees. They’re expected to make an impact for a Yankees club that’s also destined for the postseason.
The Red Sox didn’t land any of the big names available. But that’s because Dombrwski already brought in the big names. He already traded for Craig Kimbrel. He already signed David Price. He already made a blockbuster to acquire Chris Sale. He signed J.D. Martinez.
Dombrowski did his job.
You can’t acquire the biggest names available every single year. Financially, it’s impossible. But also, at some point, you just don’t have the minor league talent to get those deals done.
And this isn’t me complaining about Dombrowski’s previous moves. I’ve always been a firm believer in trading the prospects for the sure thing any day of the week. Kimbrel was the sure thing. Sale was the sure thing. It took some big-name prospects to get those deals done, but I’d have the Red Sox make those moves a million times over again.
You could make the argument that perhaps Dombrowski should’ve acquired a reliever before Tuesday’s deadline. But by the time we get to October, if four out of the five of Sale, Price, Rick Porcello, Drew Pomeranz, and Eduardo Rodriguez are healthy enough to pitch, then one of those five pitchers are going to the bullpen in the postseason, along with Eovaldi, which essentially would make Eovaldi the acquired reliever that I just argued the Sox should’ve added.
Point is, this Red Sox group has enough weapons to win it all. So regardless of how you want to grade their trade deadline moves this week, it’ll be the overall grade over the last three years that matters the most.
And for that, I’m giving Dombrowski an A+.
Listen to “The Danny Picard Show” at dannypicard.com. Follow him on Twitter @DannyPicard.
Danny Picard: Red Sox Dave Dombrowski – The job is complete
