The Boston Red Sox announced Tuesday the organization will not fill its vacant general manager position following the Arizona Diamondbacks' hiring of Mike Hazen as their GM, according to Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald.
The team did name Eddie Romero the senior vice president and assistant general manager, per Mastrodonato. He previously served as the club's vice president of international scouting and has been a member of the organization for 11 years.
"The Red Sox are very pleased to announce Eddie's promotion to Assistant General Manager," said president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said in a press release. "This is a very talented individual who we think can make a real impact for us with his background in player evaluation and his knowledge of our minor league system. A native Spanish speaker, his ability to communicate with both players and staff is significant, especially in today's game. We look forward to having Eddie onboard to assist our efforts to improve our ball club."
The Red Sox have certainly undergone a shake-up in the front office this offseason, as the vice president of amateur and international scouting, Amiel Sawdaye, followed Hazen to Arizona to become his assistant general manager.
According to Scott Lauber of ESPN.com, Sawdaye "is credited with directing the club's wildly successful 2011 draft that yielded outfielders Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr., catcher/left fielder Blake Swihart and third baseman Travis Shaw, among others."
Lauber also reported Sawdaye was considered a candidate to fill the vacant general manager position before his departure. But Dombrowski already had the final say on personnel decisions and other matters, leaving Lauber to speculate he may simply continue to rely on Romero and a circle of assistants.
In essence, then, it appears Dombrowski will continue to serve as the Red Sox's de facto general manager.
The departures are likely to continue, as well. According to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, "senior baseball analyst Tom Tippett revealed his plans to leave the organization at the end of the month when his contract expires" and the team "also is losing director of sports medicine services Dan Dyrek."
Bench coach Torey Lovullo is considered a leading candidate for the Diamondbacks' vacant managerial position, per Abraham, and he will potentially garner interest from other teams as well.
The retirement of David Ortiz may have garnered the majority of the headlines in Boston, but the Red Sox will have a much different look behind the scenes as well in 2017.
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