Dombrowski: Sandoval, Ramirez In Position To Have Better Year For Red Sox In 2016
BOSTON (CBS) -- Dave Dombrowski is a confident man heading into his first full season as president of baseball operations for the Boston Red Sox.
He did pretty much everything he wanted to do over the offseason, bringing in David Price to be the rotation's ace while adding talented arms in Craig Kimbrel and Carson Smith to anchor the bullpen.
Dombrowski also made it clear to Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez that there are high expectations for them following their disappointing debut seasons in Boston in 2015. Sandoval finished with limited production with a .245 average and only 45 RBI in 126 games player, while Ramirez played in just 105 games and hit just four home runs after July 1 (this after clubbing 10 in April). Both sluggers were also criticized for their weight throughout the season.
Boston's new man in charge made sure to lay out his expectations for both before they departed for the offseason, and that communication has continued throughout the winter. At the moment, Dombrowski is pleased with Sandoval and Ramirez's offseason commitment to live up to those expectations.
"So far so good. Now they'll have to go on the field and perform, but they've given themselves the added advantage to do so," Dombrowski told WBZ-TV's Dan Roche on Sunday night's Sports Final. "I haven't seen Pablo, but [manager John] Farrell saw him recently and said he lost 20-25 pounds. He's been working out twice a day, getting up early and hitting in the afternoon, and he's also been with a nutritionist, which has helped him.
"You'll never look at [Sandoval] and think he's svelte, per say, but he's in a better condition for himself," added Dombrowski.
Dombrowski also said that Ramirez has lost some weight this offseason, which the team requested as he makes his transition from the outfield to first base.
"It wasn't as if he was 'fat' before, it was more that he was bulky. We wanted him to be in a position to lose the bulk. It wasn't that he was overweight; we just wanted him to change his physique a little bit because we wanted him to be back to the athletic Hanley," said Dombrowski. "He is still a big guy and strong, but he's lost the weight we asked him to do and committed to doing it. He's made the commitment to take the challenge to play first base, so I think they're both in a position to go out and have better years than they did last year."
While Dombrowski knows there will be some growing pains with Hanley taking over at first -- a position he's never played before -- he's confident the 32-year-old can make a successful transition.
"It's more the minutiae of playing; the footwork, knowing where to go on cut-offs, how to handle relays. Those types of things will take time. But he's played the infield and has the instincts to play over there. I think he'll be fine, but again it's not a given; he has to go out and do it," said Dombrowski. "There's going to be growth period."
More from Dombrowski
On building a complete roster; what makes David Price an ace:
On Boston's managerial staff; expectations in spring training:
Tune in to WBZ-TV's Sports Final and Sports Final OT every Sunday night at 11:35 p.m.!
