The Boston Red Sox made waves Tuesday afternoon in a way that perplexed many.
Reports surfaced noting the Red Sox were listening to offers on both Rick Porcello and Jackie Bradley Jr. as a way of shedding payroll. Considering the Red Sox are coming off a World Series title and appear to have made a concerted effort to bring the same group back (i.e. re-signing Steve Pearce and Nathan Eovaldi), the news was shocking.
Later in the day during media availability at the MLB Winter Meetings in Las Vegas, Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, while in a way confirming the rumors, made clear the team isn’t going into some sort of rebuild.
“I’d say we’re not driven by that fact, that approach,” Dombrowski said, via The Boston Globe. “You always listen to anything. You can always get better. I know long-term we’re not going to be able to sign all of our players. That brings up conversations and people calling you about various things but I would guarantee you our primary focus is to try to win a world championship in 2019, to try to repeat.
“We’re not looking to move anybody. I’m not closing the door on anything, that we’ll never do anything with our team, but we like the club that we have and that’s what our goal is.”
Of course, Dombrowski simply is being pragmatic, and there’s nothing wrong with that. While the Red Sox certainly are riding the high of a successful 2018 season, ensuring they have sustained success is a smart approach.
