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The Boston Red Sox finished one of the most impressive team seasons in their memory Sunday, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers. claim the title 2018 World Series. The Red Sox won 108 regular season games, then were beaten by the New York Yankees and Houston Astros on their way to their fourth title in the last 14 years.
The Red Sox owe a lot to their local core, as Mike Axisa explained earlier in the month. A set of hitters led by Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi combined to total about 18 wins over replacement, the third-highest total in the majors. Add to that nearly four victories brought by the signatures of independent agents like Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers, and the Red Sox have received considerable production from the players they've developed.
Despite this, do not overlook the role that baseball president Dave Dombrowski has played this season. When Dombrowski took office in August 2015, the Red Sox had a farming system brimming with young talent. He built a World Series winner by exploiting this young talent – both to fill vacancies and commercial offers – and the financial strength of the Red Sox.
Yes, Dombrowski has also blown a few times – trading Travis Shaw (and others) against Tyler Thornburg has turned out to be a mistake – but let's focus on the tubes for the moment. Here are seven of Dombrowski's most important additions to the 2018 World Series champions. (Note that these are only presented in real order other than an arbitrary order that you assign them.)
Where could we start with Chris Sale, who closed game 5 and the series?
In December 2016, the Red Sox sent four prospects to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Sale. This group included Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech, then hopes No. 1 and No. 30 baseball. (Luis Alexander Basabe has become a solid prospect too.) Since then, the Red Sox have got their money's worth.
In two seasons, Sale posted a 175 ERA + and was still an annual threat to win the Cy Young Award. As a bonus, he has another year under contract with his team. It's unclear whether Dombrowski and the Red Sox will approach Sale about a long-term extension, but this scenario seems far more likely than Boston has just regretted this deal.
From one left to the other big name. Dombrowski knew David Price after sharing his time with the Detroit Tigers. This familiarity probably prompted Dombrowski to feel comfortable with the handover to Price of the richest launcher contract (in terms of money guaranteed) in the winter of 2015. Since then, Price has registered 119 ERA + in three seasons, while battling injury and criticism regarding his record series. Given what Price did in the World Series, it is likely that the melody will change in the future. It should be noted however that he can withdraw from his contract this winter.
This case may be less about Dombrowski than the rest of the league. For some reason, nobody seemed to want JD Martinez after dominating 45 times in 119 games in 2017. The lukewarm market brought him to join the Red Sox for a five-year contract worth 110 millions of dollars. hit .330 / .402 / .629 with 43 circuits and a total of 358 major bases. Martinez had a relatively quiet world series, but it was a good deal.
One of Dombrowski's first big contracts was to send four potential candidates (including Manuel Margot and Logan Allen) to the San Diego Padres for Craig Kimbrel. We still love Margot and Allen, and Kimbrel had a bad post-season. But come on, even if he leaves the Red Sox this winter, he will have amassed 108 saves and 184 ERA + over three seasons. For the prospect, these figures rank third and eighth among the pitchers with more than 100 appearances since the beginning of 2016. It will be fine.
Exchanging Jalen Beeks against Nathan Eovaldi at the deadline did not seem to be a maneuvering move of needles, but that paid off. Eovaldi played well for Boston, recording 54 innings in the regular season and 132 ERA +. He then went on to play in the playoffs, particularly in the World Series. Eovaldi's appearance of relief in Game 3 may have been a loss, but it's an effort that should keep him alive in Boston, no matter if he returns or signs elsewhere as a free agent.
Another of Dombrowski's seasonal contracts that was passed without notice. Steve Pearce had a .279 / .394 / .507 record with seven home runs in 50 regular season games, having returned from Toronto in late June. He then replaced Mitch Moreland, injured, in the playoffs. won the World Series MVP Trophy after delivering four hits in the last two games, including three dingers.
Although Dombrowski does not have the reputation of building solid ground, Ryan Brasier has proven to be a successful rookie for the minor leagues. Formerly a minor league partner who spent last year abroad, Brasier took full advantage of his opportunities once he was promoted in July. He became such an important member of the Red Sox Pad that he was called nine times in the playoffs – tied for most of the Boston raisers. He delivered, posting an ERA 1.04.
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