Dave Dombrowski has been around baseball a long time. In that time he has developed friendships and relationships with a number of people both inside and outside of baseball. His connection with former Red Sox manager Alex Cora has been well chronicled; he even offered the Phillies job to Cora before Rob Thomson was even fired.
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Prior to taking the Phillies job, Dombrowski became a member of Music City Baseball LLC, a group dedicated to bringing an expansion team to Nashville. Dombrowski provided instant credibility to the initiative, focusing on baseball operations, site selection, and leveraging his industry connections to support the group’s efforts. He has also reportedly worked on assembling an ownership group.
Even while being employed by the Phillies, Dombrowski has been active as an adviser to Music City Baseball in their pursuit of an expansion team. The team would be named the Nashville Stars after the Negro League team that called the city home. Former player, player agent, and general manager Dave Stewart is the leader of the group. It is thought that if the city is given an expansion team, Dombrowski will be a key member of the front office or potentially a part of the ownership group.
Dombrowski the recruiter
Dombrowski has brought other influential baseball personnel into the group. According to published reports, Dombrowski was instrumental in recruiting Don Mattingly to join the advisory board, which he did in 2023.
Mattingly, who played in Nashville when they were the Double-A affiliate of the Yankees, has worked with the group to advise on baseball operations, utilizing his experience as a former MVP player and veteran manager. Mattingly has publicly stated that Nashville is a “perfect place” for a Major League team, citing the city’s success with other professional sports – Tennessee Titans (NFL), Nashville Predators (NHL), and Nashville SC (MLS) – and its status as a “major league city”.
The pair developed a further professional relationship when Mattingly was hired by the Phillies during the offseason to serve as Thomson’s bench coach. On Tuesday, Mattingly took over the manager’s job on an interim basis when Thomson was fired by Dombrowski.
Reports indicated that Stewart and the leadership team specifically added Mattingly to help “advance a plan to develop a diverse investor group” and provide counsel on key strategic matters. Mattingly, in those reports, has cited his desire to work with Stewart on diversity efforts.
It’s unclear how much continued involvement or influence either Dombrowski or Mattingly have with the Nashville Stars group.
Nashville, with Music City Baseball LLC, are thought to be at or near the top of potential choices for one of two expansion teams. The pursuit of those cities is a prime goal of commissioner Rob Manfred, but the issue is on hold pending the signing of a new collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association.
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