Philadelphia Phillies close to hiring World Champion executive Dave Dombrowski

The Philadelphia Phillies are closing in on their next front office leader

The Philadelphia Phillies are “on the verge” of hiring former Red Sox executive Dave Dombrowski to be the next leader of their front office, according to Jayson Stark of The Atheltic (subscription required).

Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia also confirmed Stark’s report that Dombrowski would be the team’s “new leader of baseball ops.”

Dombrowski, 64, has won two World Series as a general manager, first with the Florida Marlins in 1997 and most recently with the Boston Red Sox in 2018. Boston reached the playoffs in the first three seasons of Dombrowski’s administration and finished 119 games above .500 after his departure in 2019.

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Dombrowski previously worked with the Marlins, Tigers, and Expos, spending the majority of his career in Detroit where the Tigers reached the playoffs five times in his tenure and had a winning record in 8 of his last 10 seasons.

Through the early stages of the offseason the Phillies organization has appeared rudderless after general manager Matt Klentak stepped down after missing the playoffs in each of his five seasons at the helm. There’s been mixed messaging on if the team will spend money or compete for top-tier free agents, whether it be new faces or retaining their own stars.

With Dombrowski the Phillies now have an established baseball mind leading baseball operations coming out of a lost season. It was another year of Bryce Harper’s contract, another year of Aaron Nola’s prime, and another year with Alec Bohm making the league minimum. Dombrowski and his reputation as a potential Hall of Fame executive will come in and lead the team back to where many fans expected them to be coming out of rebuild.

Now all eyes will turn to J.T. Realmuto and whether the Phillies will be able to retain him. While ownership has been non-commital to spending money, the market for a high-priced catcher isn’t expected to be abundant. The Mets, who were viewed as strong competition for Realmuto, are reportedly working on a deal with catcher James McCann.

Philadelphia will also have to examine their shortstop position with Didi Gregorius on the open market following a productive one year in red pinstripes. Adding to a weak bullpen and questionable rotation will also be on Dombrowski’s docket this offseason.