Former Marlins, Tigers and Red Sox baseball operations lead Dave Dombrowski has been regularly mentioned as a possible candidate for the Angels’ GM vacancy, but Dombrowski went on record with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal to explain that he is committed to his current role with Music City Baseball and is not pursuing other opportunities in the sport.
Dombrowski, former D-backs GM Dave Stewart and Tony La Russa joined Music City Baseball, LLC back in July — an organization endeavoring to bring Major League Baseball to Nashville, Tenn. While La Russa was clearly open to other opportunities — he’s since been the surprise managerial pick of White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf — Dombrowski tells Rosenthal that he signed a four-year contract and has no plans to change course.
“I’m staying in Nashville,” Dombrowski plainly stated, adding that he made “…a commitment when I moved here that as we continue to pursue a new team — expansion, relocation or if it goes nowhere — that I would stay here with them.”
For now, the Nashville group will continue its efforts to bring a team to Tennessee and Dombrowski will remain a major part of that effort. It’s likely, per Rosenthal, that if Dombrowski’s group is ultimately able to succeed in bringing an expansion club to the city, that he would head up that new club’s baseball ops department. Of course, that’s a rather long-term goal that likely won’t come to fruition at any point in the immediate future, if at all. Dombrowski did leave the door open for him to explore new MLB opportunities before the end of his current contract if eventually “there’s nothing at the end of the road” and “we don’t have an organization” any longer.
It’s clear, though, that Dombrowski’s name can be removed from speculation surrounding not only the Angels but the Marlins, Phillies and, if a change is made in New York under new owner Steve Cohen, the Mets.
RunDMC
Probably better for everyone that he’s with a club that has no farm – the way he likes it.
mcmillankmm
Hahahaha, spot on
Technically correct
Wow, that was just perfect.
stollcm
It’s always awesome when the first post is witty and spot on. Just even a little chuckle goes a long way these days!
kings88
If a “like” button featured in these comments, I’d wager RunDMC’s comment would be an l timer.
kings88
All timer. A like button and edit feature. Please and thank you MLB trade rumors.
radhippo
Good the Angels don’t need another retread.
Halo11Fan
Who is the last retread the Angels have had… Buzzie Bavasi?
Maybe it’s time for an Angel retread.
angelsfan4life
The last Angels retread was Bill Stonman. Jerry Dipsnot was a interm GM for Arizona.
Halo11Fan
I Didn’t realize Stoneman was the GM of the Expos.
balkmove69
Until they wisely hired Kevin Towers & Dipoto supposedly broke down crying in front of front office people!
Hard to walk with four balls
Move the Angels and Mike Trout to Tenn!
jimknows
DD likes to leave a team with absolutely no future.
Ancient Pistol
That’s often the tradeoff. If you want to win now you may have to make painful choices to get there. It’s not for everyone but it can get you a ring which is why players and teams are in this.
kelticknotz
Before criticizing DD, ask what the goal for the team is. Is it to a dynasty always in the post season win or lose or is it to win the world series.
DD went to Boston having been given one sole mission win the W/S as quick as possible which he did at the expense of losing the farm system, and by bringing in hired guns. And no one was complaining when Boston won two W/S.
Dodgers and Yankees are true dynasties they have remained at the top of their respective divisions for years always contenders despite having very little success in post season play.
Henry and his group knew what DD was about he has been consistent throughout his career and they wanted a ring and he got them that, But Henry and company knew that it was only a temporary fix and they shelled out the money got what they wanted and recognized at all those high price guns were going to move on to the greener fields free agency presents. Look at the current Red Sox team, of the 40 players on the roster how many of the remaining top players would stay if given the option to move to free agencies.
I’m not a support of DD but those who have signed him sign him for the sole purpose WIN NOW !!
bkbkbkbk
It’s my birthday and I thank the gods
prov356
There’s only one God, BK.
HubcapDiamondStarHalo
There are zero gods.
prov356
You gotta believe something. I’ll take Jesus.
HubcapDiamondStarHalo
Correct. You gotta believe in humanity and zero gods.
ghost of dave kingman
Believe In America
Not The Media
Yankee Clipper
Unfortunately, if you believe in humanity, you’re seeing where that belief will eventually lead. The concept of “humanity” comes from the precepts of Jesus’ preaching and is based on Holy Moral Law.
Humanity has a fluid concept of right and wrong, and no ultimate authority outside of its own corrupt,selfish, politically expedient decision-making process. Therefore, the self-reliant hope in humanity alone (naturalist viewpoint) leads to a perpetual devolution with a reliance on inherently corrupt and flawed humans.
You sound like a good person, and I had to take the opportunity…. thank you for the chance and just contemplate the reality and limitation of naturalism.
bucketbrew35
Thank the Jesus!
DodgerOK
He signed a 4 year contract? What are they paying him to do, conspire against weak and struggling teams?
jd396
But enough about Manfred
Gtfdrussell
underrated comment. well done.
Technically correct
Wow, y’all are on today. This was *chef’s kiss*
artiefufkin
Angels fans breathe a sigh of relief.. that hiring would of been on par with the Hamilton contract in terms of desperation..
believeitornot
Pujols was another one when you consider he was probably born in 78.
bobtillman
Dave ‘s a pretty smart guys. It seems to me there’s only 2 possibilities here:
(a) he’s convinced he can get a team in Nashville or
(b) his hiring by another team is fake news; nobody’s even asked him.
I tend to think it’s the former.
windmill_noise_causes_cancer
IE: Not enough prospects to trade on the Angels.
astick
Still think about it. Adds up sort.of. I dont now if it would make a difference f. S
LordD99
What he’s doing sounds more interesting than another GM role, especially if the choice was working for Moreno.
its_happening
MLB will need an influx of cash from two more expansion teams. Time to look for a second location and inject some new money as soon as possible.
jimmertee
There are not enough quality players to have 2 more expansion teams. The talent is diluted enough.
its_happening
That’s not the point. The league needs money. This is the solution if the buy-in is a billion each.
And I disagree with the talent. Baseball has enough talent. They are killing the pitchers with rule changes, all the catering to hitters and what they are allowed to get away with. Change that and you’ll see a different game and a more balanced attack.
Koamalu
The league has never been in a better point and revenue will increase nearly $3 billion next year just from TV contracts. Not to mention increased streaming subscribers.
That still won’t stop MLB from expanding. 2 more teams are coming and you are right that the fee will be at least $1 billion.
its_happening
Playing 60 games with no fans and numerous job losses along with reconstruction inside the ballpark (especially Buffalo for Toronto) along with the uncertainty of the next 6-8 months negates the revenue when mass expenses are factored in. If the league has another Covid season there will be more losses and more fans moving on to different things. Expansion has to be strongly considered. Giving two extra cities a reason to care about MLB could also be an added benefit with more subscribers.
jimmertee
We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. I can see the financial benefits of expansion, no question.
But my point remains, there are not enough quality players. Look at how many bad teams there are year after year already. What expansion will do is thin out the quantity of quality ballplayers across teams even more than they are now. There will be lots of triple AAA ballplayers playing in the big leagues that have no business being there.
bbplayersinc
Tough to say DD is a horrible GM when he’s a 2 time WS champion. Not many GM’s have that on their resume. For those who bang him for depleting a farm system a disagree…Farm systems are designed to develop Big League players and use the assets you develop to Win on a short or long term basis.
its_happening
He also played a pivotal role in the Marlins rebuild that lead to 2003. He took over a horrendous situation in Detroit. He was asked to win in Boston despite carrying awful contracts that preceded him. Dombrowski is a Hall of Fame GM. Anyone cracking on him for his management do not fully comprehend what it’s like to have to win a World Series.
Monkey’s Uncle
Dombrowski is attempting to become the first man ever to deplete a team’s farm system before they even have one.
Rsox
Expansion is likely coming. Baseball hasn’t gone this long without expansion since the expansion era started and i can’t imagine MLB likes that not only does the NFL have more teams but soon so will the NHL
DarkSide830
the NHL already has 31
Rsox
True with a 32nd coming
LLGiants64
Perfect place for a struggling franchise to move. Three come to mind: Oakland, Tampa Bay & Miami.
Tom E. Snyder
Let Oakland move to Portland, OR.
LLGiants64
Well, Portland really knows how to roll out the red carpet for visitors.
Rsox
A’s stadium situation in getting closer to a resolve with them buying the land whatever-they-are-calling-the-stadium-this week sits on. The Marlins haven’t even been in Marlins park 10 years yet so its unlikely Miami would let them leave. The Rays are the likelier of the three to possibly move but i don’t think MLB really wants to relocate any teams.
An expansion team in Nashville and one other city would allow the leagues to realign to four four team divisions in each league which seems like the next logical progression. What would be interesting is would there also be drastic realignment (teams switching leagues, AL/NL being replaced by East/West. The likely coming universal DH makes both possible)
its_happening
Vegas.
Four divisions of 8 teams. That would balance the schedule nicely.
ABCD
I don’t think Nashville is large enough to field an MLB team.
Portland
Vegas
San Antonio
Charlotte
These are all larger metro areas. Nashville is about the same size as Milwaukee, the smallest population in MLB.
Koamalu
Oakland is in one of the top TV markets and they are getting a new stadium. They are not moving.
Tampa is in one of the top 12 TV markets and they also own the rights to the 18th largest in Orlando. They are not moving unless it is into a new stadium in Tampa itself.
Miami has new ownership that just got their team into the playoffs and a new stadium AND a new TV contract starting in 2021. They are not moving.
That means expansion. Two new teams that each pay the current owners a billion plus dollars to get their franichise.
jimmertee
Dombrowski is a HOFer. He knows how to win. He knows how to build a farm system [Marlins 2003]. very few ever win a WS let alone 2 world Series.
DD is an elite level Pres/Gm type. There are not many of those in the game. Most just fumble around.
ABCD
Yep, success with four teams.
Dorothy_Mantooth
How do expansion teams build out minor league rosters in year 1 of their existence? While I realize they are able to select unprotected players from other MLB teams to build their major league and part of their AAA roster, how do they get enough players to build their AAA, AA, A teams (not to mention short season and DSL). Do they have a minor league expansion draft too? Just trying to figure out how Dumbo will build enough minor league depth to trade it away for his typical win now at the cost of the future approach.
Rsox
Depends on when the teams are announced and when they start play. The Marlins and Rockies each had picks in the 1992 draft while the Diamondbacks and Rays had picks in the ’96 and ’97 drafts. While not enough to fill up a farm system its a start
prov356
This is good news. We need Dembrowski in Nashville to get us a team, preferably in the American League so I can see the Angels play a few times a year.
Yankee Clipper
Love to see this for when I move there. Then I can go see games. Won’t be the same as Yankee Stadium but it’ll be really cool.
Hard to walk with four balls
They just need to move the Angels TO Nashville!
Anon Anon
DD for commissioner.
Excel_1984
Arte has hamstrung this team