Phillies May Hire World Series Winner To Lead Operations: Reports

PHILADELPHIA, PA — One of the most accomplished and experienced executives in baseball is reportedly close to being hired to lead baseball operations in the Phillies organization.

Dave Dombrowski, who won the World Series as the general manager of the Florida Marlins in 1997 and the Boston Red Sox in 2018, is nearing a deal to become the Phillies new president of baseball operations, according to The Athletic's Jayson Stark and multiple other sources, including NBC Philadelphia. Nothing has yet been officially announced.

The shakeup in Phillies leadership began shortly after a disappointing 2020 season ended when former general manager Matt Klentak was demoted from his position. Current team president Andy McPhail plans to step aside once a replacement is hired, the organization said. The five-year Klentak-McPhail regime failed to end the Phillies now nine year long playoff drought, the second longest in the sport.

The news should be a welcome respite from an offseason of doom and gloom for Phillies fans, ranging from rumors of the team trading its superstars to lacking the financial wherewithal to resign J.T. Realmuto.

In each of his tenures — Dombrowski also built a championship contending team with the Detroit Tigers — the executive has been noted for his willingness to trade prospects and make big free agent signings in order to win immediately. It goes without saying that this has been the strategy of the Phillies over at least the past two years: a point of no return which was crossed in the winter of 2019 when they signed Bryce Harper to a 13-year, $330 million contract, and traded top prospect (and now budding star) Sixto Sanchez for Realmuto.

It's clear the Phillies have been in now or never mode since that fateful offseason two years ago. And for those discouraged by this context and by owner John Middleton's recent remarks about the team's tenuous financial situation, the Dombrowski rumor should be encouraging: someone with Dombrowski's trademark strategy and background probably would not take the job if he didn't have faith he'd be given the resources needed to win.

Indeed, if Dombrowski agreed to come to Philly, he'd be leaving an exciting position involved in bringing a new MLB team to Nashville, an initiative that was launched over the summer.

Several other notable names linked to the top job running the Phillies, including high ranking executives with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins, withdrew their names from consideration for the position over the past week, according to multiple reports.