Toronto Blue Jays: Dave Dombrowski is Needed

Everything appears to be going perfect, north of the border. The Toronto Blue Jays have won 13 of their last 19 games and have 58 wins over their first 110 games. There’s 52 games to go and a lot can still happen.

Toronto’s chasing the New York Yankees for the division lead, while currently occupying one of the wildcard spots and hoping to make it to the playoffs for the first time since 1993’s World Series win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

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The city of Toronto, as well as Canada, is buzzing at the thought of the team making it into the playoffs and ending the streak. At the trade deadline this year, the team went and further bolstered a deep roster with pitchers Mark Lowe and LaTroy Hawkins, as well as shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. The players heading the other direction were shortstop Jose Reyes and some prospects. The early results have been fantastic with Tulowitzki in the lineup as the team has won 8 of their last 9 games.

One of the biggest and surprising moves was when David Price was acquired from the Detroit Tigers, further bolstering the starting rotation. R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle, Drew Hutchison and Marco Estrada with Price, make this team even more dangerous. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski shipped Price to Toronto for pitcher Daniel Norris and some prospects.

A few days after the dust settled on the Price trade, Dombrowski was relieved of his duties as General Manager of the Tigers.

As good as this season is in Toronto, the Blue Jays need to look at addressing the pressing issues that face them heading into the 2016 season. One issue is how does the team fill the vacancy when President Paul Beeston steps down at the conclusion of this season?

There have been various names talked about in discussions about replacing Beeston. Over the years, two names discussed have been Chicago White Sox Kenny Williams and Baltimore Orioles Dan Duquette.

Another name that now has some merit is the same guy who sent Price to the Toronto Blue Jays. Yes, the one and only…. Dave Dombrowski. He could come in as just President and leave Anthopoulos as GM or he could have both titles and Anthopoulos out of a job.

If the Toronto Blue Jays are looking at making changes and hiring a smart baseball man to bring into the family, it should be Dombrowski. He has had success with the Florida Marlins and Detroit Tigers. Since 1993, he has taken the teams to 6 playoff appearances, 3 pennants and a World Series title with the Marlins in 1997 defeating the Cleveland Indians.

Before the Blue Jays hired former GM J.P. Riccardi to be their new General Manager, Dombrowski was a candidate for the job. Dombrowski was interviewed back in 2001, but ultimately Riccardi got the job as the head decision maker. When Riccardi was in Toronto, the team won 642 games over the course of 8 seasons. Their winning percentage was abysmal under him. The .495 winning percentage was horrendous and changes had to come.

Questions will continue to surface in Toronto, when it comes to the future of General Manager Alex Anthopoulos. The message is pretty clear and simple by ownership. Make the playoffs or you could be out of a job this fall.

Whether the Toronto Blue Jays make the playoffs, time will tell and we will have to wait and see how it plays out the rest of the way.

Dave Dombrowski may not be a General Manager in Toronto. As already stated, it is contingent on whether the Toronto Blue Jays makes the playoffs and whether the team’s ownership want to make full changes after Beeston steps down. Dombrowski could come in as only the President? He could come in as President and General Manager? He has already dealt Price to Toronto and there has already been strong interest in Dombrowski, since the early part of this century in Canada.

There will be a lot of suitors interested in Dombrowski’s services. The Boston Red Sox have some upper management restructuring to do with Larry Lucchino out as the team’s President and CEO. In Milwaukee, there is restructuring as well as long-time GM Doug Melvin is expected to take a new role within the Milwaukee Brewers’ organization. There will be a long lineup with Toronto, for Dombrowski’s services.

Food for thought… Could Dombrowski have traded Price to the Toronto Blue Jays, knowing he was about to be fired? Was he looking at the vacancy of the President role in Toronto? Could he have told Price to stay there, he’s coming there shortly? Of course, I am kidding!

Exciting times are ahead for the rest of this season. Everyone is enjoying the ride that the Blue Jays are taking them on this season, as they are finally going all in at the chance of competing in the playoffs. There are certainly wonderful times ahead for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Next: David Price and the Jays

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