Dombrowski's best, worst moves with Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox shocked the baseball world Monday when they announced that team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski had been relieved of his duties.

The move came less than a year after the Red Sox won the ninth World Series title in franchise history. The reigning champions brought back almost all of their roster this season, but they've failed to meet expectations and are in danger of missing the playoffs.

With Dombrowski now out the door, let's review the most noteworthy moves - for all the right and wrong reasons - that he made after joining the Red Sox in August 2015.

Best moves

Hiring Alex Cora as manager

After signing on before the 2018 season, all Cora did as a rookie manager was lead the Red Sox to a championship and a club-record 108 wins in the regular season. He got the best out of Boston's stars during that run, including an MVP performance from Mookie Betts.

Signing J.D. Martinez in free agency

Boston managed to land Martinez on a five-year, $110-million deal after a 2017 season that saw him post a 1.066 OPS with 45 home runs in 119 games. Dombrowski inked the Scott Boras client in late February, as a slow-developing offseason saw teams start a new trend in free agency by looking for cheap, controllable players. Since then, Martinez has produced a stellar .320/.394/.604 line with 224 RBIs across 281 games with the Red Sox.

Extending Xander Bogaerts

The 26-year-old Bogaerts has emerged as arguably the best shortstop in the majors. And thanks to Dombrowski, the Red Sox have him under contract through the 2026 season thanks to a monster extension at the beginning of April. Only Mike Trout (8.7) and Alex Bregman (7.0) have accrued a higher WAR in the AL this season than Bogaerts (6.3), according to FanGraphs.

Trading for Craig Kimbrel

The Red Sox didn't give up much to get one of the best closers in MLB history. In November 2015, Dombrowski acquired Kimbrel from the San Diego Padres in exchange for Manuel Margot, Javy Guerra, Carlos Asuaje, and Logan Allen. In three years with Boston, Kimbrel recorded 108 saves while posting a 2.44 ERA and a 14.9 K/9 rate.

Worst moves

Trading Travis Shaw for Tyler Thornburg

This deal was a total belly flop for the Red Sox, and not just because of the players directly involved. Dombrowski decided to keep Pablo Sandoval as his starting third baseman by trading Shaw to the Milwaukee Brewers in December 2016. The latter proceeded to put up two straight 30-plus-homer seasons for the Brewers while Sandoval was released by Boston after posting a .622 OPS in 32 games during 2017. For his part, Thornburg dealt with injury problems and recorded a 6.54 ERA over 42 2/3 innings in two years with Boston before being released.

Failing to bring in established closer for 2019

Brandon Workman currently leads the Red Sox with 11 saves in September. Meanwhile, Boston is tied for 22nd in the majors with 28 total saves and has blown a whopping 25, which is the third-worst mark in the AL. That's just not good enough for a club with championship aspirations, especially one that let Kimbrel leave as a free agent. Dombrowski had a chance to go after an established closer during the offseason and trade deadline. However, the team decided to stick with in-house options.

Good and bad

Trading for Nathan Eovaldi, re-signing Eovaldi

Last season, Dombrowski looked like a genius after trading Jalen Beeks to the Tampa Bay Rays for Eovaldi, who became a playoff hero by carving up the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and Houston Astros en route to the World Series title. However, Boston forked over $68 million to the injury-prone 29-year-old during the winter. Due to elbow issues, Eovaldi has only pitched 48 1/3 innings - posting a 5.77 ERA - in the first season of his four-year deal.

Trading for Steve Pearce, re-signing Pearce

Boston got Pearce last June for basically nothing, and he ended up becoming the World Series MVP. That's an amazing return on a penny-stock investment. However, re-signing the 36-year-old hasn't worked out nearly as well. The oft-injured Pearce has hit just one homer in 29 games during 2019 while making $6.25 million.

Trading for Chris Sale, extending Sale

Sale registered 300-plus strikeouts in 2017 after joining Boston from the White Sox, before authoring a 2.11 ERA in 2018 and recording the final out of the World Series. Even better, Dombrowski got the seven-time All-Star from Chicago in exchange for four prospects - including Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech - while refusing to part with Rafael Devers.

Giving the 30-year-old Sale a five-year extension seemed like a no-brainer in March, but injuries limited him to 158 innings last season and then 147 1/3 to date this year. Going forward, the Red Sox have $145 million invested in an arm with a lot of mileage on it and durability concerns. Dombrowski pushed ownership to secure the extension and he didn't handle it smoothly, according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic.

Signing David Price

Dombrowski gave the five-time All-Star a seven-year, $217-million pact prior to the 2016 season, and the results have been mixed. The former Cy Young Award winner has produced a 3.84 ERA in 588 innings over four years with the team, but he's also been plagued by multiple injuries. At least Price finally exorcised his playoff demons last fall, as he won twice while accruing a 1.98 ERA against the Dodgers to help secure the title for Boston.