Boston Red Sox

Morning sports update: Dave Dombrowski explained the Red Sox payroll situation before the trade deadline

"So there is no reason anybody has said you can't do it, but you also have to have a real significant reason you are going to go above that."

Dave Dombrowski in July, 2019.

By Hayden Bird

3 minutes to read

The Red Sox destroyed the Yankees on Thursday night at Fenway Park, 19-3. It was the highest tally of runs that Boston has ever scored against New York in the 117 years of the rivalry.

The rivalry resumes today at 7:10 p.m. with Red Sox starter Andrew Cashner facing James Paxton for the Yankees.

Dave Dombrowski’s pre-trade deadline thoughts: Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski recently offered his thoughts on the upcoming MLB trade deadline (July 31).

The Red Sox are currently a game back of the Oakland Athletics for the second American League wild card spot. Still, Dombrowski was asked about the possibility of the team being a “seller” at the deadline. Specifically, would he ever consider trading a star player like Mookie Betts?

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“Well, ever trading any player, I’ve always said you always consider trading any player you possibly have,” Dombrowski explained in an interview with WEEI’s “Dale & Keefe Show” on Thursday. “When I was with Detroit Miguel Cabrera was the MVP and you’re in the position where he won the Triple Crown. I used to say would I would trade Miguel Cabrera, yeah I would trade Miguel Cabrera because if you could get two Miguel Cabreras for one you would do that.”

“So it doesn’t happen very often but you have to be open-minded,” Dombrowski continued. “So, sure, could you ever do that with any player the answer would be, ‘Yes.’ Is it likely, most likely not but, again, you can never tell what happens with any particular player”.

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Dombrowski refuted any notion that he’s been restricted by Red Sox ownership when it comes to adding players in a deadline trade.

“No, nobody has said that there are any restrictions,” Dombrowski said.

“I think it’s more a matter that there’s a reason they call it a penalty,” Dombrowski noted. “When you go above that $246 (million) top-level you not only have to pay significant dollars from a financial perspective but you drop 10 spots in the draft and that’s a big penalty. So you try and not do it. We really went into last year not want to do that but we did exceed it because we thought the moves would make a difference for us. So there is no reason anybody has said you can’t do it, but you also have to have a real significant reason you are going to go above that. We have a lot of good players that I think we can show we can run with the guys that we have, but if there is a right piece out there we think can make a difference nobody said you can’t do it.”

Trivia: In Dombrowski’s first season as a general manager with the Montreal Expos in 1989, he traded a future Hall of Fame pitcher to an American League West team as part of a package for Mark Langston and Mike Campbell.

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(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: The Hall of Fame pitcher would go on to record 300 or more strikeouts in four straight seasons from 1999-2002.

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On this day: In 1992, Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan struck out his 100th batter of the season, which was the 23rd consecutive year he’d accomplished the feat. Ryan, then 45, would go on to strike out 157 in 157.1 innings pitched that year. Like Tom Brady, he was a remarkable standard of longevity. Ryan pitched 200 or more innings in four consecutive seasons after turning 40, and retired at age 46 with the all-time MLB lead in strikeouts 5,714.

Daily highlight: Not a bad play from a Carolina Mudcats pitcher:

Trivia answer: Randy Johnson