3 Things Phillies fans should know from this Dave Dombrowski interview

What Phillies fans can learn from Dombrowski’s time with the Red Sox

The 2015 Red Sox finished the year 78-84, dead-last in the division. Dombrowski spent his first offseason making blockbuster moves, most notably, trading top prospects for Craig Kimbrel and signing David Price to what was then the richest pitching contract in MLB history. The 2016 Red Sox went 93-69 and won the division.

In the offseason preceding the 2017 season, Dombrowski again bundled some of the franchise’s best prospects in a megawatt trade, this time for Chris Sale. He also traded Clay Buchholz to the Phillies, one of many trades between the two teams that have not panned out for Philadelphia. Despite 2017 being the first season without the newly-retired David Ortiz, the Red Sox repeated – literally exactly – their 2016 performance, finishing 93-69 again, winning the division, and losing in the first round of the postseason.

After back-to-back Octobers of division titles and first-round exits, Dombrowski continued his pattern of making money moves. They replaced manager John Farrell with Houston Astros coach Alex Cora, who had played for Boston between 2005-2008. While they debated upon entering the Shohei Ohtani contest or trading for NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton – who had just had a 59-homer season – Dombrowski re-signed Eduardo Nuñez and the underrated Mitch Moreland.

Finally, a few days after the Sox had played their first Spring Training game of 2018, the club announced that they had signed JD Martinez to a five-year deal valued at $110 million. As the 2018 season progressed, including starting off 17-2, Dombrowski also traded Jalen Beeks to the Rays in exchange for Nathan Eovaldi, a move that would pay more dividends than the team ever could’ve imagined once October rolled around again.

The 2018 Red Sox won a franchise-record 108 games – the most by the club since they won 104 in 1912 and the most by any MLB team since the 2001 Seattle Mariners won 116 – and their third straight division title. But this time, they wouldn’t exit after the first round. They defeated the Yankees in the ALDS, the Astros in the ALCS, and the Dodgers in the World Series, their fourth championship in fifteen years.