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Red Sox fire president Dave Dombrowski 10 months after World Series win

MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images / MediaNews Group / Getty

The Boston Red Sox announced Monday they have fired president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

"Appreciative of my time here. Boston is a great baseball city. Had an exciting few years. However, this season did not go as we all planned," Dombrowski said later on Monday, according to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. "Enjoyed working with the personnel in our organization. However, respect ownership’s decision to make any changes they choose."

Dombrowski's departure comes less than a year after the Red Sox won the 2018 World Series. Following Sunday's 10-5 loss to the New York Yankees, however, the team is 17 1/2 games back of the Bronx Bombers in the AL East with only 19 games to play. Boston is also eight games behind the Oakland Athletics for the American League's second wild-card spot.

"Dave will hold a special place in franchise history as a key architect of one of the greatest Red Sox teams ever assembled," Red Sox chairman Tom Werner said in a statement. "His willingness to make bold moved helped deliver our fourth World Series championship of the 21st century."

A search for the next baseball operations leader will begin immediately. During the search, assistant general managers Eddie Romero, Brian O'Halloran, and Zach Scott will lead the baseball operations department.

Dombrowski first joined the Red Sox in August 2015 and quickly made his mark on the team, trading four prospects to the San Diego Padres in exchange for revered closer Craig Kimbrel after that season. He also swung for the fences in free agency that winter, inking starter David Price to a seven-year, $217-million deal.

The Red Sox went 93-69 during each of Dombrowski's first two full campaigns in charge, but they were eliminated in the American League Division Series both years.

Dombrowski opted to shake up the team following the 2017 season, dismissing longtime manager John Farrell and adding another expensive player by bringing J.D. Martinez aboard on a five-year, $110-million contract. Martinez went on to hit 43 home runs, and the Red Sox won a franchise-record 108 regular-season games en route to their World Series victory.

"Four years ago, we were faced with a critical decision about the direction of the franchise," said Red Sox principal owner John Henry. "We were extraordinarily fortunate to be able to bring Dave in to lead baseball operations. With a World Series championship and three consecutive American League East titles, he has cemented what was already a Hall of Fame career."

Red Sox All-Star outfielder Mookie Betts, who has yet to sign an extension with the club and will enter his final year of arbitration this winter, kept his reaction to the news brief.

"I love it here, but this is proof that this is a business," Betts said, according to ESPN's Joon Lee.

The firing took skipper Alex Cora by surprise. Dombrowski hired him to replace Farrell prior to last season.

"This is a guy that gave me a chance to come here and be a big-league manager. It's one of those that it caught me - they just told me," he said, according to Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. "So I'm not ready to talk about it."

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