The Phillies have shown interest in Dodgers assistant general manager Jeff Kingston for their open GM job, but they’re also eyeing another member of LA’s front office: senior vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes. “There are strong indications” the Phillies met with Byrnes last week, Jayson Stark of The Athletic writes.
On the other hand, Theo Epstein is not a candidate for the Philadelphia job. Owner John Middleton did reach out to Epstein, per Stark, but the former Cubs president of baseball operations informed the Phillies he isn’t interested in the position. He’s likely to take at least a year off from running a club’s front office.
The 50-year-old Byrnes joins the previously reported Michael Hill as another former GM to meet with the Phillies regarding their vacancy. Byrnes was the GM of the Diamondbacks from 2006-10, and he then led the Padres from 2011-14. Neither one of those tenures worked out as hoped for Byrnes, but he has nonetheless been a popular GM candidate around the league in recent offseasons. It helps that Byrnes has been a prominent part of the Dodgers’ front office, arguably the best in the game, for seven seasons.
On the other hand, Theo Epstein is not a candidate for the ——————— job. Owner —————— did reach out to Epstein, per Stark, but the former Cubs president of baseball operations informed the ——— he isn’t interested in the position. He’s likely to take at least a year off from running a club’s front office.
This can be included in every front office article.
I feel like the Mets are too great of a match for Theo not to join. They have $ to spend in a big market while the Phillies don’t. It doesn’t surprise me at all Theo doesn’t want the Phillies. What can he do with them? The previous administration already spent all the future money and did it in a very openly “stupid” way. I think this whole idea of Theo taking a season off is a posturing to a degree when it comes to the Mets. Theo said money wasn’t the main reason he left the Cubs but it WAS “part of the reason.” He was scheduled to make $10 million with the Cubs next year and knew they probably weren’t going to win that year anyway. The Mets have the payroll space and he could have just been saying he wants the year off to make sure Cohen offers him over $10 million AAV. I know the Cubs aren’t in the greatest shape now that Theo is leaving and the Red Sox were in even worse shape contractually at the time he left (Carl Crawford, anyone?). But it seems like these teams kind of have a deal with Theo when they sign him. The deal seems to be: “We pay you and you win us at least 1 world championship. You may have to hand out some contracts that are too long and hurt us for a few years after you’re gone but we have the payroll ability to minimize that timeframe. We understand that we have to have a large amount of payroll space available for you to be able to pull this off. Once we get our championship and the team you built starts to age you can move on.”
That opportunity seems too hard to pass up for a team like the Mets who hasn’t won a championship in well over 3 decades. It was clearly too hard to pass up for the Red Sox who hadn’t won it in 8 and a half decades or the Cubs who hadn’t won it in over a century. Even if Theo hurts your payroll flexibility for 5 years after he’s gone, winning your first championship in almost 40 years seems to make it worth it. Especially if he can pull off multiple championships for you. Only a few teams ever even have the total payroll to be able to pull this off and even fewer currently have the payroll space. The Mets might be the only team that can do this right now and if Theo waits until next season, that payroll space might be gone with the big offseason the Mets are expected to have. I think the Mets are the only team with the ability to entice Theo to retract his plan of taking a year off and I think it will cost them over $10 million per year on a multi-year deal to pull it off. Any thoughts or opinions?
It appears the Mets are hiring only a GM not a PoBO. Theo would not have interest in that type of situation.
The Mets are still the Mets until they prove otherwise.
The issue is if Theo took the Mets job this offseason when he has a year left on his Cubs contract, Chicago would and should be entitled to compensation.
Releasing someone from their contract is one thing. Having that person immediately take another executive job is another. I would expect Sandy to run the show the next year in a manner that doesn’t clog up future payroll and preserves most prospects, and hand it to Theo in 2022.
This ‘Mets opportunity’ you mention has been passed up early and often for years. Cohen’s deep pockets won’t immediately extinguish this decades burning dumpster fire of a franchise.
BREAKING NEWS!!!_________________ has an interest in trading for Francisco Lindor……film at 11…….
Theo needs to take a year off, to let the stench clear before he runs another franchise into the ground.
I would say he left the Cubs in better shape than what it was when he joined.
Same with Boston. I have a feeling the POBO role is being held open by the Mets for Theo to join them next season. Call it a hunch…
exactly, and the year off is to circumvent compensation
@slider
Yeah, the stench of that first World Series Championship in over 100 years is really potent. Light a match, will ya?
Cub haters never get over it. Probly still mad at his first girlfriend.
Spot On!!
What team did Theo “run into the ground”? Not the Cubs.
I mean… Theo built two World Series teams in Boston, was one game away from a third, and Ben Cherington clearing out his bad contracts led directly to 2013, which in terms of a franchise turnaround was stunningly quick.
With their spending ability, Theo should be a top target
They should be spending it on good bullpen pieces. Something Klentak failed to do. Also, for the love of all that is holy, SIGN REALMUTO.
Whoever takes that job please for the love of cheesesteaks, trade Hoskins for just about anything.
not sure who will want him and he’s recovering from tommy john
I’ve only been to Jim’s on South for cheesesteaks. It was delicious.
You might want try Dalessandro’s Steaks on Henry Avenue in the Roxborough neighborhood of Philadelphia.
selling low…a stupendous idea
What’s with the Hoskins hate? Do people really only look at AVG?
First things first is to get Realmuto signed. Second thing is to fix that horrible bullpen. The phillies had the worst bullpen in the league. Go out and get Liam Hendricks , Alex Colome & Brad Hand. If they want another starter, get a solid number 3 like Jake Odorizzi.
Nobody with a brain should want the Phillies job. Middleton’s the worst owner in the sport with the possible exception of Reinsdorf. As it stands right now this team needs at least four top arms in the bullpen, two serviceable starting pitchers, a front line catcher, and a high level middle infielder. That’s a dead minimum if they want to compete for a playoff spot, let alone a championship..
And all their words and actions lately, and even before the pandemic in fact, indicate pretty strongly that they don’t want to spend, and they certainly haven’t got the pieces for major trades.
This team’s got no stability in the front office, and isn’t likely to get any, no culture in the clubhouse, a problematic farm system, and a major league team that, while very talented at the top, has absolutely no depth.
Without a major injection of cash, they’re not going to compete next year, especially in a division where they have literally the least organizational talent and stability. They’re going to be dead last next year and probably for a half a decade or more after that. And they deserve it.
Can’t say a team deserves to be in last place, the front office is doing a terrible job mainly Klentak. He traded Sixto Sanchez for JT Realmuto , Middleton said he would make the trade only if they were to keep him long term, it’s two years later and he still isn’t signed, the phillies need 3-4 arms in the bullpen. One more starter and another bat, If they lose jt realmuto , I wouldn’t mind them going after Springer.
kreckert,
Please tell us how you really feel. If I’m not misreading this, you sound awfully like an embittered Mets fan.
No. I’m an embittered Phillies fan. If I was a Mets fan I’d be happy. No more Wilpons, no more Cano, an owner who actually seems to want to win. Mets fans have something to look forward to. The Phillies? The entire rebuild has been a bust. The “stupid money” was, and is, a bust. Every other team in the division has either a better roster, a better farm system, or a better front office than the Phillies. We’ve got literally nothing on which to build any hope for the future.
2 words for anyone thinking of hiring Josh Byrnes. RUN FAST
Why not Dan Duquette?
I would love to see The Duke work with Andy Mac, that would be the definition of irony
Anyone high up in the Dodgers organization should be given serious consideration.
Or anyone in the rays organization
Teams have picked on Tampa enough. They’ll run out of them!
Clickbait
Why?
Theo’s name in the headline got me again. I’m really looking forward to “Theo Watch” for the next three years.
See you at the crossroads.
Josh Byrnes has worked in 7 Baseball Operations departments since 1999. That’s 7 organizations in 22 years! Why is that? Nothing wrong with wanting to be in winning organizations, but this appears to be a guy who jumps around seeking affiliation with successful leaders in order to build his resume (John Hart in Cleveland, Theo in Boston, Andrew Friedman in L.A., etc), then proves in his GM stints that he is not close to being in that caliber of executive.
The Phillies have lots of needs in SPs, RPs, on defense, and especially offense. This team has a long way to go to compete at the level of the Dodgers and Braves, let alone make a normal season’s playoffs. Why go with a one-time promising exec who’s proven that he’s a retread of the analytics generation, instead of giving an opportunity to a candidate who’s stayed in place working their way up, and would not treat Philly as just another stop. Philly fans deserve a very thoughtful hire for this role.
Aloha both MLBTR Staff and posters, as a daily reader and infrequent poster,
Have nothing but respect for the staff, keep sharing each and every tidbit you find…the majority of us drink it up and it does make our day a bit brighter, no matter how minuscule …
But man, recently…especially after yahoo closed comments….it’s gotten way negative/teen stuff? I get we all have our opinions and New Yorkers, am from Philly, are the MOST vocal, but even NY’s are salient in the posts…
So who is the new group who is just straight up trolling…?
Find a different outlet…this is mostly a site of people who know enough to know that we know we aren’t insiders – but we want to chat about our passions…?
Andy Mac actually works for the Phillies? Pretty much been a silent ghost since his hiring. The Duke won’t even know he’s there. BTW, is he still there?
Mets fans: Theo ain’t coming. Alderson and Theo can’t co-exist. Your new owner hired the wrong guy. Angels need him.