- Red Sox President of Baseball Operations David Dombrowski)
The Los Angeles Dodgers lead the Tampa Bay Rays three games to two. That means the World Series will end no later than Tuesday, at which point the 2020-2021 offseason will commence. The Phillies, with a fresh new vacancy in their general manager position, could begin the offseason by adding an executive to move the organization forward. If they do, the biggest name among free agent executives just might want to come to Philadelphia.
Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Phillies, suggests Dave Dombrowski might be interested in the job, provided he has full control:
Dave Dombrowski, architect of two World Series winners, is more interested in the Phillies job than the Los Angeles Angels' GM vacancy, according to two sources, but only if he has complete autonomy. That wouldn’t be the case with Andy MacPhail in the role of team president.
Andy MacPhail has one more season left on his contract with the Phillies.
Would the Phillies let a lame duck season of MacPhail's tenure to get in the way of the hiring of the right person to move the organization forward? There is no indication that the Phillies plan to end MacPhail's run at the moment. But would MacPhail, who some have suggested is set to retire at season's end, be overwhelming in the president's role?
Some reports have indicated that the Phillies mostly let Matt Klentak do his job, with little interference from MacPhail. So would a Dombrowski, if hired, be allowed to make baseball operations decisions? If the Klentak-era was any indication he would not be incumbered.
Dombrowski built two World Series winners in the 2018 Boston Red Sox and the 1997 Florida Marlins. Dombrowski was the architect behind the core of the 1994 Montreal Expos team that never had the opportunity to make the playoffs due to the work stoppage and behind the Detroit Tigers teams that made it to the World Series twice.
The Los Angeles Angels are also currently looking for a general manager after the dismissal of Billy Eppler. Angels owner Arte Moreno has a big checkbook, but is known to be very much involved in baseball decisions. Almost immediately after Eppler was dismissed, the Angels were linked to Dombrowski.
Some have suggested the Phillies will keep the status quo in 2021, with MacPhail as president and Ned Rice serving as interim general manager. But if the Phillies are serious about moving forward, MacPhail's lame duck year should not matter.
