Surprise, surprise, Dave Dombrowski was willing to relocate during a pandemic. With that obstacle out of the way, the Phillies introduced Dave Dombrowski as their first-ever president of baseball operations on Friday.
A lot of Phillies fans were split on Dombrowski’s hire. Many mentioned his love of trading away prospects. With that in mind, let’s look at Dombrowski’s best trade decisions in his time as a GM.
This list will include his time in Boston when he was the de facto GM for the majority of the time.
August 8th, 1990, Moises Alou
Dave Dombrowski made his first great trade 3 years into his time as GM of the Montreal Expos.
In exchange for Zane Smith, the Expos received Willie Greene, Scott Ruskin, and, later, Moises Alou from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Smith had a good start to the 1990 season, posting a 3.23 ERA in 22 games (21 starts). He’d go on to have a 3.31 ERA in Pittsburgh in 124 games.
The highlight of the Expos’ return was 24-year-old outfielder Moises Alou. He didn’t play much in 1990 and 1991 because of injury, but he was the runner-up for NL Rookie of the Year in 1992.
That season he slashed .282/.328/.455. Although he had a lower WAR and OPS, Eric Karros won the NL RotY over Alou. Alou kept finding success in Montreal. In 6 seasons, he slashed .292/.349/.489. He went to 1 All-Star Game as an Expos and got MVP votes in 2 seasons.
March 26, 1997, Cliff Floyd
The Cliff Floyd trade in 1997 is one of the first instances of Dave Dombrowski bringing one of his former players to his new team.
Drafted in the first round by Dombrowski in 1993, Cliff Floyd became a key hitter for the Florida Marlins. In parts of 6 seasons with the fish, Floyd slashed .294/.374/.523 with 110 homers. He accumulated 16.9 WAR in those years.
The 2 players the Marlins traded to the Expos, Dustin Hermanson and Joe Orsulak, posted a 16.7 WAR for their CAREERS.
July 21, 1997, Darren Daulton
That’s right. Dave Dombrowski was the GM who brought Darren Daulton to the Marlins. It was a savvy move too. Daulton became a huge factor in the fish winning their first World Series.
He had a good finish to his regular season, putting up a .799 OPS with the Marlins. In the World Series, is where Daulton shined brightest. In the 7-game series against the Indians, Daulton killed the baseball with a 1.121 OPS.
And like the badass he was, went out on top with a World Series ring. He’d retire that offseason.
Feb 1, 1999, Mike Lowell
When people think of the term fleeced in regards to a trade, Mike Lowell isn’t one of the first names that pop up. In any case, the Marlins fleeced the Yankees in this situation.
The players that the Yankees acquired didn’t help them at the major league level. Todd Noel, Mark Johnson, and Ed Yarnall played a total of 16 major league games.
Meanwhile in Florida, Lowell appeared in 3 All-Star Games and had an OPS+ of 109 in 981 games played. He’d go on to win 2 World Series Rings: one with the Marlins in ’03 and one with the Red Sox in ’04.
January 8, 2004, Carlos Guillen
Bringing Carlos Guillen to the Tigers was another steal by Dombrowski.
He sent Juan Gonzalez (not that one) and Ramon Santiago to the Mariners in the swap. Gonzalez wouldn’t make the majors and Santiago would hit .170 for the Mariners.
Guillen, on the other hand, would become a 3X All-Star for the Tigers. He’d post a 121 OPS+ with them, twice earning MVP votes. He also played extremely well in the Tigers’ 2006 World Series loss to the Cardinals. In the 5-game series, Guillen would slash .353/.450/.529.
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Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire
