It looks like the only debate is - is not spending heavily at closer the only way to build a bullpen?
Right now, the Sox de facto closer is Barnes. It’s only January 7, so a lot can happen over the next 80 days. But if Barnes closes and they backfill his set up role with a good pitcher who doesn’t cost $15mill, is that necessarily the death nail of this team?
Dombrowski does and always has valued the rotation over the bullpen, which may not agree with Cora’s managing style. So the question is- has Dombrowski learned his lesson from his Detroit days? We are talking about a GM who once entered the postseason with the three then-most recent AL Cy Young winners (Scherzer, Verlander, Price) and another future Cy Young winner (Porcello), but his closer was 39yo Joe Nathan.
Is that what you really still expect from Dombrowski?