Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski a Potential Candidate to Take Over as MLB Commissioner

Feb 21, 2012; Lakeland, FL, USA; Detroit Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski during spring training at Joker Merchant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

According to Buster Olney, executives within the industry are tossing out Dave Dombrowski’s name as a potential replacement for Bud Selig when he vacates the commissioner’s office following the 2014 season. (h/t CBS Sports).

And here’s what (a different) Matt Snyder of CBS Sports had to say about Dombrowski‘s candidacy:

"Dombrowski is an intriguing candidate. He’s only 57 years old, so he could serve for a long time — so long as everyone wants him around — and I think that’s in the best interest of baseball.He’s also a great baseball mind, having worked in the game since 1978. He began with the White Sox as an administrative assistant and worked his way up the chain until he was an assistant general manager in 1986. He then stocked the farm systems of the early ’90s Expos and late ’90s/early 2000s Marlins as general manager before taking the helm of the Tigers in 2002."

There used to be dissenting opinions on Dombrowski’s genius as a GM — specificallly after the pre-2008 trade of Jair Jurrjens for Edgar Renteria turned out poorly (though it looks more forgivable now than it did 2009) — but pretty much every move he’s made since then has turned to gold. He nabbed Miguel Cabrera for a boat load of never-will-be prospects, spun Curtis Granderson off for a future Cy Young Award winner and above average center fielder, conjured Doug Fister out of thin air, and made a plethora of other quality moves.

I’m trying to think back, but besides the grossly massive contract given to Prince Fielder — and there’s evidence that ownership pushed for that one — it’s hard to find a real head scratching move in the last four or five years. Maybe bringing back Brandon Inge four times too many, but that was a relatively small grievance.

This is all to say that losing Dombrowski would be a huge blow to the Tigers organization. I’m sure he would be a great commissioner, but he’s a great GM, darn it, and it would suck to lose him.