Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski held a press conference Tuesday at Fenway Park to discuss Boston’s upcoming offseason.
The first two questions he fielded were simple and direct: How far away is this team from making the playoffs and what moves do you plan to make?
“I don’t know exactly how close we are, but I think we have a chance to be competitive next year,” Dombrowski replied. “I think a lot’s going to be dependent upon the continued growth of our players, our young players, some of the veterans coming back, staying healthy and also the situation where we improve our club.
“First and foremost, we talked about trying to improve our pitching staff — our starters and our bullpen. That’ll be a primary focus. Where we go after we still have to have those meetings and make those decisions, but those are areas we want to improve.”
Dombrowski also said the Red Sox are pretty much set from a position player standpoint, though that doesn’t mean things won’t change as the offseason progresses. The Sox are coming off their third last-place finish in four seasons, so it’s important to keep an open mind, which Dombrowski seems to have.
Let’s go over some notes from Dombrowski’s end-of-season availability.
— The Red Sox announced several moves in the baseball operations department.
Eddie Romero was promoted to vice president of international scouting. Adrian Lorenzo was named coordinator of international scouting. Brad Sloan was hired as a special assignment scout. Harrison Slutsky was promoted to coordinator of advance scouting. Alex Gimenez was hired as an assistant of professional scouting.
— Dombrowski met with Red Sox manager John Farrell and general manager Mike Hazen on Sunday at Fenway Park. The trio discussed several topics, including Boston’s coaching staff opening.
Arnie Beyeler served as the Red Sox’s first base coach/outfield instructor for the last three seasons, but his contract wasn’t renewed.
Farrell, who recently completed chemotherapy for his Stage 1 lymphoma, looked good and felt good, according to Dombrowski.
— The Major League Baseball playoffs are in full swing. So, just how much does postseason performance factor into Dombrowski’s player evaluations as an MLB executive?
“It can be important, but I think you have to look at every circumstance, sort of inspect why guys do certain ways,” Dombrowski said. “I can just reflect from my own situation. It’s hard to believe but when Justin Verlander first started (with the Detroit Tigers), he didn’t perform very well in the postseason. Part of it, he was so amped up at that time, he just had a little extra adrenaline flowing. And then over time, even though that adrenaline was still flowing, he kept it more under control and as you know went on and dominated in the postseason.
“So it’s just a process for guys. Of course, you’d love people to dominate any time you talk about the postseason, you’d love (San Francisco Giants ace/playoff hero) Madison Bumgarner all the time when you go out there, but it’s difficult to do. But it’s involved in your conversations.”
— The Red Sox’s 2016 payroll could be similar to what Boston had on the books for 2015.
“It’s not going backwards,” Dombrowski said.
— Clay Buchholz, who missed the entire second half with an elbow issue, passed his exit physical.
Dombrowski wouldn’t confirm whether the Red Sox plan to exercise Buchholz’s $13 million club option, but he mentioned the pitcher while discussing Boston’s 2016 plans, so it sounds like he’ll be back.
— Dombrowski wasn’t ready to announce the Red Sox’s Opening Day outfield, but he again praised the trio of Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Rusney Castillo.
“Mookie’s easy to say (will be in the starting lineup),” Dombrowski said. “I think the other two guys have done well, Jackie probably a little bit more. I think Castillo looked tired at the end, to me. (But) I was encouraged when I saw him earlier.”
The Red Sox plan to pursue an extra outfielder, according to Dombrowski.
— Koji Uehara is the Red Sox’s closer for now, but Dombrowski didn’t rule out pursuing another closer, in large because another injury to the 40-year-old could throw the bullpen out of whack.
— Dombrowski would like to add at least one power arm to the bullpen.
“Well, I love hard throwers,” he said. “But I love hard throwers that get people out, because I’ve known hard throwers that don’t get them out as much.”
Dombrowski said he’s open to both trades and free agency as means for fixing the bullpen.
— Dombrowski is unsure how the catching situation will shake out, mostly because he hasn’t seen much of Christian Vazquez, who missed all of this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. But Blake Swihart certainly made an impression on his new boss.
“Swihart, I liked a lot, we like a lot,” Dombrowski said. “You could see he needs to continue to grow from a defensive perspective, but he works really hard at that. People in the organization tell me that’s how he is, he works really hard.
“He’s a switch-hitter that gives you offense, he’s athletic, he takes pride in his defense, too, so there’s a lot of pluses in that regard. I like him a great deal.”
— The Red Sox are “committed” to trying Hanley Ramirez at first base next season, according to Dombrowski.
— The Red Sox plan to send Travis Shaw to winter ball so he can work on playing third base.
— Cuban prospect Yoan Moncada will play winter ball in Puerto Rico. The 20-year-old is expected to open next season at High-A Salem.
— Allen Craig’s days in Boston could be numbered. Dombrowski said trading him to a team willing to give him more of an opportunity would be “an ideal scenario.”
“Last year the club asked waivers on him to take him off the roster and he cleared,” Dombrowski said. ” … When guys clear (waivers), you can see that it’s not an easy situation to make happen. But if he’s not playing with the big league club, I hope something opens up for him somewhere else, yes.”
Craig is owed $20 million over the next two seasons. His contract also includes a $13 million club option for 2018.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@BostonRedSoxRR
