The last-place Boston Red Sox made up for a quiet trade deadline in a hurry Tuesday by naming highly respected executive Dave Dombrowski as the club's new president of baseball operations.

Red Sox unveil Dombrowski: 'There aren't many opportunities like this'

Dombrowski's stunning hire led to Ben Cherington's exit as general manager and triggered plenty of speculation about what's next for the storied franchise. Here's everything you need to know about the front-office blockbuster:

Red Sox hire Dombrowski; Cherington stepping down as GM

Where did it go wrong?

Cherington's good faith brought on from a surprise 2013 title and a well-stocked farm system finally ran out. Despite Dombrowski lobbying for him to remain with the team, the writing was on the wall for Cherington following plenty of recent swings and misses.

5 moves that led to Cherington's exit from Red Sox

Cherington calls Red Sox exit a 'clean break'

What's next?

Dombrowski, who led Detroit to five playoff appearances and two American League pennants during his 13-year run with the Tigers, says his first order of business will be to find a new GM. More on him trying to keep Cherington and his efforts to replace him.

Wren reportedly among top candidates to replace Cherington

Further reading

Dombrowski is an excellent choice to assume the role of first ever president of baseball operations in Boston, writes Christopher Smith of Masslive.com.

Dombrowski is known as a strong talent evaluator who puts great emphasis on the eye-ball test when it comes to scouting and evaluating talent at all levels. He's not as hell-bent on analytics and number crunching as Cherington.

The Herald's Michael Silverman weighed in on Tuesday's shocking news by asserting that Cherington was the unfortunate fall guy for the last-place Red Sox.

There is no need to disguise what Dombrowski’s arrival meant to Cherington’s fate. Dombrowski wielded more power in Detroit as the Tigers president and general manager than Cherington ever did here when he worked under Larry Lucchino, Henry and Werner. And while Dombrowski most likely would not have minded Cherington working for him, why would the latter want to abdicate his current power and be relegated to a glorified assistant to a president?

Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston wonders how Dombrowski's hiring will help the Red Sox, and what it means for John Farrell and the rest of the front office and coaching staff.

Under normal circumstances, had the Red Sox waited until the end of the regular season to make a change, it probably would not have been until November at the earliest that they would have had a new man in place. But because Dombrowski was fired by the Detroit Tigers, the Sox were able to put him in place two weeks later, which gives him a head start on evaluating the club and formulating plans for the offseason.