DEC. 8: Byrnes has decided to stay with the Dodgers, Jayson Stark of The Athletic tweets. Hill is among those still in the running.
DEC. 4, 10:02pm: Levine is no longer a candidate for the Philadelphia job, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. He’s content to stay in Minnesota.
3:56pm: The Twins have given the Phillies permission to interview Levine, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets.
10:12am: It’s been two months since Matt Klentak stepped down as the Phillies’ general manager, but there’s still no resolution to the team’s front-office search. A group of potential candidates is coming more clearly into focus, however, as NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury reports that Dodgers senior vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes and former Marlins president of baseball ops Michael Hill are in line for second interviews. Additionally, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports (via Twitter) that Twins general manager Thad Levine is a “significant” candidate for the Phillies.
Per Salisbury, the Phils aren’t seeking a general manager but are instead focused on hiring an executive who could assume the president of baseball operations role in their organization, then hire a GM of his own. By that criteria, each of Byrnes, Hill and Levine fit the bill. Byrnes, in addition to his current role with the Dodgers, is a former general manager of both the Padres and Diamondbacks. Hill, of course, held the president of baseball ops title in Miami.
Levine was an assistant GM with the Rangers before being hired by the Twins as general manager back in 2016. He’s currently No. 2 on Minnesota’s hierarchy behind president of baseball ops Derek Falvey, so if the Twins indeed allow Levine to interview (or have already allowed him to do so), he could be hired away given that the president role in Philadelphia would be a promotion. Of at least minor note, Levine is a Virginia native who played college ball at Haverford College — about 25 miles from Citizens Bank Park. Of course, that was more than 25 years ago, so those local ties may be little more than anecdotal at this point.
There’s still no clear timeline as to when the Phillies might finalize a decision — nor is it even certain that they’ll make a hire this winter at all. Assistant general manager Ned Rice was elevated to GM status on an interim basis while the team conducted its search, and Phillies president Andy MacPhail suggested more than a month ago that Rice could very well hold that title into 2021 if the team doesn’t find a candidate to its liking.
Byrnes should be the pick
I just want the Phillies to get the best president of baseball operation available either if its Levine, Hill, Byrnes or someone else. Someone
who makes smart decisions and help the Phillies win. It’s time for them to play in October and win. So please take the time to find the right person.
I missed the Phillies GM leaving. In reality with Harper/Realmuto the last 2 years how do you not even make the postseason? Unbelievable!
Because the bullpen was historically bad. That’s not hyperbole.
I forgot as soon as Harper left the Nationals they won the World Series. Hmmm….
Harper has been very solid for the Phils and a great clubhouse presence. Nats had an excess of talent and didn’t need to splurge on Harper.
And your point is??? They let Harper go because Soto was ready to take over. They won because Rendon and others had career years and others played way above their heads. They didn’t even win the division title, only played well at the end of the year when they needed to. So what happened to them this year? Harper didn’t return and play for them, so you can’t point your finger at him……
Nationals are a pitching first team imo , the reason why they let Rendon leave as well. It might happen to Juan Soto as well
@Crime Dog – The 2001 Mariners won 116 games after Griffey, A-Rod l, and Randy Johnson all left. Do they deserve a Hmmm…???
@gbs – this one really made me think. I think you actually make his point to some extent. A-Rod left prior to the 2001 season. Griffey and Johnson were both gone at least a couple seasons before the 116-win 2001. I would compare Harper and A-Rod when it comes to star power, ego, clubhouse presence, and especially their age/maturity level when they reached the point of leaving. Maybe there is something to it.
I’m not disagreeing with you or @McGriff at all. I think you’re both making cases for the role that clubhouse balance and psychology plays on a team. Would be an interesting research project/article to compare the effects both Harper and A-Rod had on their respective clubhouses the year or two before they left to sign their big contract.
Punch your ticket.
Then hope for the best.
A lot of players on the Nationals had good postseasons.
That is why you play the games.
The Harper ego thing is ridiculously overblown and debunked by teammates of the Nats and Phils. He looks like a typical bro and the media covers his every nove so people make incorrect assumptions.
Baseball, unlike a couple of All-Stars in basketball or even a transcendent quarterback back in football, requires a complete team to make the playoffs. It’s impossible to make a legitimate World Series run without a homegrown young core playing key roles in multiple positions. The moves the Phillies made over the past few years are finishing touching pieces, not pieces to vault them into contention. More or less, they did the same thing the White Sox and Padres have done except both of those clubs have legitimate young talent at multiple positions that are pre-arb.
Winning in baseball all comes down to how well you can draft (or trade for prospects) and develop your own core. It’s the same issue that plagued the Angels with Trout.
Brandon’s 3 – well said. I’m not familiar with your name on this site, but would enjoy seeing more posts from you. Thanks again.
This is correct, and even the Phillies know it, but the problem is when you consistently fail to develop talent from within. Decades of busts. So the Phillies needed to buy a core. Now they have the core to build around, but not the finances to add the final pieces.
@Brandons – yes, this is good. As I alluded to above we also can’t dismiss the huge role that clubhouse atmosphere plays. I think we as fans underestimate how much value some GM’s place on this aspect. Being somewhat close to the Royals rebuild leading up to their back-to-back World Series appearances in 2014 & 15, to a man everyone close to that team will tell you the most impactful addition they made to the team was trading for James Shields. Yes, he was a coveted pitcher to that point, but it certainly wasn’t his production that helped put the Royals over the top as much as it was his presence and leadership leading up to that point. And I’m well aware that he was gone for the actual championship season in 2015, but his impact on that rebuild was enormous.
Ditto for the Dodgers adding Betts. Several of his teammates have praised him for his leadership and helping other players become better. His superb attitude on and off the field has been contagious.
I’m sure clubhouse chemistry matters, but I’m not sure anyone can say it plays a “huge role.” It would be very difficult to quantify.
Crime Dog….Klentak didn’t leave, he was “reassigned”….The bullpen killed him…he made moves, good moves, but they blew up every time…we could have gotten Rivera, and that woulda went sideways, I’m certain…the bullpen was just cursed..
bingo. hard to blame Klentak for the in-season moves. more off season moves would have been great, but in hindsight would they have even done anything? not defending him in general – change was needed – but i feel last season was doomed by whatever malady came over the entire pen.
The bullpen has been a dumpster fire for years, not just last season…the moves worked on paper, they just didn’t translate to success on the field…
The fact that he had to make so many in-season bullpen moves just shows how awful his original bullpen arms were. Frankly, when the season started, I never heard of half those guys.
last year’s bullpen was maybe one of the worst three of all time. in 2020 where starters average less than sox innings per game that will spell disaster every time.
indeed, you tell em
should be byrnsy no doubt!
Byrnes is a joke.
Go with Levine
Go with Theo
Go with Thad
Go with Bill. He lives down the street from me, says he’s always wanted to be a GM.
Byrnes will be the pick according to people in the organization. Middleton loves him.
LAD’s had much more success under Byrnes’s tenure then as compared to the other two. less to do with LAD’s moves then the other two with their respective teams, but i feel confident he’s the best choice among the three.
The best choice may be dependent on whether Middleton plans on acting more middle market than big market going forward. I’d trust Hill more than Byrnes to succeed within stiff payroll caps. LAD has no such concerns.
Byrnes did fine in AZ with limited payroll
Hill has discover and developed young talent— the cost-efficient way to build especially when you have the pricy “foundation players” in Harper, Nola and Wheeler
Not sure that you can convince Levine to give up a GM job from a contender… between Hill and Byrnes I’d go with Byrnes.
It’s a promotion in title and likely money
Good point, but I’ve heard that the Phillies’ front office is pretty enamored with Byrnes.
And, under normal circumstances, he would have more resources to work with.
Well, if they’re having such a hard time with this I’ll officially throw my hat into the ring. It’s not a team I tend to root for but I’m not morally opposed to working for them as I would with the Red Sox or Tampa.
I do like cheese steaks so I’m sure that should help in moving me up the list.
You spelled cheesesteaks incorrectly.
Next!
It doesn’t matter, I’ll still eat one.
But how do you feel about 40s and cheap quality flavored cigars?
I’m not down with those, though I was known to drink a few 40s when I was younger. Never smoked.
Only thing I care about is the resigning of Realmuto. If he’s not back, neither am I.
Prepare yourself to be disappointed then because I have a sick feeling he’s gone. If we go into this season with Knapp as our starting C (which I can see them doing) then I’m not sure I’ll be back myself.
My bags are already packed. I guess I need a new username
Haha. Baseball is the one sport that I have one team and that’s it (although I admire individual players on other teams). If I drop the Phils the only other team I think I could pull for would be Texas (only because a close family friend plays in their system) and I’m not sure they’re in any better shape.
Realmuto is gone.(Nationals) McCann is gone.(Mets).
Start thinking Grandal from the White Sox.
Lol. None of those things have happened, and I’ll take the field against the teams you picked.
The White sox are not trading Grandal, especially being on the verge of losing McCann.
You’d stop being a fan of your lifelong team if you lose a guy you’ve had for what, two years? Crazy. If I can watch Piazza and Pedro leave, you’ll be okay.
Ha yeah and Beltre.
Nah, JTR is just a symptom of a larger problem. Middleton, terrible FO and complete lack of being able to draft and develop talent for decades are the real issues here. JTR walking would just be the cherry on top of all this buffoonery.
@puigpower It’s less about Realmuto than the sum of everything it took to get him. It was extremely hard to watch Alfaro and Sixto do work in the playoffs for another Yankee pedigreed manager while the Phillies bullpen acquisitions looked like an extra from the Walking Dead and pulled them up short in the 2020 wild card fest.
The franchise exchanged long term control for a short term push with the best catcher in baseball with a promise to fans they would do what it took to re-sign JT. I’m not turning my back on the team, but I won’t be buying an annual MLBTV subscription in February if they don’t do something this offseason to redeem those debacle moves.
Phillies have made the playoffs without Realmuto in the past and they will do it again in the future.
Hopefully, their front office will take the situation with him as a wake-up call that trading for a guy doesn’t make it easier to sign him.
While I’d like to keep Realmuto, there are plenty of holes to fill. This team needs to show some effort in plugging those holes. Even if Realmuto walks they have a solid core to build upon, they just need to make some moves.
Would help if they drafted better. They obviously hit in a huge way on Aaron Nola and then Alec Bohm looks to be trending in that direction as well. Anyone else?
This franchise has a horrific track record when it comes to drafting and scouting. Nothing to do there.
recent returns have made me feel a bit better. i think they have a good track record in the middle rounds, but the #1 fails show the hardest. i think our recent 1st rounders look a lot better then up through the Randolph/Moniak years.
Love the username. Have you ever met Von Hayes? Dude is a super huge d-bag.
I met him once and he was super nice to me. Maybe I caught him on a good day.
I had season tickets in the late 80s as a kid. We used to hang out in player parking for autographs. He was a diva and shunned a lot of kids.
i mean cmon now. Realmuto was never going to be forced to sign here. i get giving up Sixto sucks, but that’s a nessicary risk to build a contender. they arent going into the season with just Knapp. i feel very confident that they get one of McCann or JT. (likely whoever signs second they will outbid for, i feel less confident now that both will get crazy money now)
I hope the Phillies get Realmuto back because they’ll have to spend 6/160 to do it, on the low side with the way he’s talking.
Despite pleas by his pal Harper, JT knew he was leaving, once the Phils gathered for summer camp. The lack of quality relievers made it obvious the team was going nowhere.
Lots of holes in the FO and the roster. Let’s get going.
Wait.. so Levine will have to get MORE pitchers… idk about that lol.
What a complete joke. There’s no need to hire anyone when Middleton is going to pull all the strings anyway. He has no clue what he’s doing. Just because you sold your families cigar company to make your fortune doesn’t mean you know how to successfully run a baseball team.
I mean, seeing as how the Phillies have the second-longest postseason drought of all the MLB teams, it would almost stand to reason that they’d be better off without a front office. As the poster above alluded to, as long as Meddleton keeps getting involved, it doesn’t really matter who comes in here. Can’t we just bring back Chase Utley to be awesome and great and just be in charge of the whole damn thing?
Hopefully Middleton sees the writing on the wall like the Wilpons did.
Could someone explain the difference in responsibilities between a GM and President of Baseball Operations? Why are both needed?
This may not be a correct explanation, but this is how I see the differences of responsibilities.
President of Baseball Ops: oversees the GM, domestic and international scouting dept, all player personnel, all team employees.
GM: oversees the manager, rosters, drafts (with PoBO and Dir. of scouting), contracts, team payroll/luxury tax, trade talks with other GMs, arbitration hearings, free agent signings.
I could be wildly wrong but that’s how I view the two titles and responsibilities. And by no means is that a complete list or description of responsibilities, but you get the idea. Some could overlap and some could also include an assistant GM in these activities.
Thank you very much 5Tool. I appreciate the information. This helped clarify the two roles for me. Thank you again.
I’m curious about the fact that the Mets were never connected (at least publicly) with Byrnes before backing off from hiring a POBO.
So far in their search they’ve turned up the garbage can, stapler and some paper clips. No one seems to know where the tape dispenser is kept.
This whole Phillies Leadership debacle is sad….in an offseason where owners are actively trying/colluding/whatever to “set the market” at a much diminished rate because of the ongoing pandemic which allows them some small measure of plausible deniability….the Phillies COULD be a team that decides to grab the bull by the horns and pick up some immediately useful players.
Instead, we watch as Richie Rich and his cohorts sit idly by like a neutered french bulldog that has a radar dish around it’s chubby little neck watching all the other (less pathetic) dogs frolic and play and improve.
Theres, like, a 1% part of me that wants to believe that Middleton and Co. are actually saying one thing and lying in wait, preparing to pounce on so many useful free agents like an un-neutured and robustly un-french bulldog……maybe it’s half of 1%…..like 0.5%…..
With ya on all that. This is a clear indication phili has no desire to spend. I bet they don’t even make realmuto an offer.
Totally with ya; if the Phils don’t take advantage of this lower-than-normal cost to overhaul the bullpen, then the team will be stuck in mediocrity for a few more years. I want JTR back, of course, but that might be a long-shot. However, bringing in at least 3 quality arms on Trevor May-ish deals (two years , 12-16 million range) is MORE than realistic and it would go a long way to improving the club. I want Archie Bradley, Keone Kela, and Ryan Tepera for these roles. Again, would be great to go top-shelf and go after Liam Hendriks, but I don’t think the Phils will pursue that kind of investment in one bullpen arm. Hendriks probably fits better on a team that already has a strong bullpen minus one key piece. This is not the Phillies; they need a ton of pieces, and this is the year to do it.
Solid pass on Kela, dude is a cancer.
As long as Andy “DidFail” is not apart of the hiring process bus as I type this I also should say Middleton too, then I’m sure they will get the right guy.
Levine would be an interesting choice. He is always creative with his pitching additions and Minnesota has continously churned out a top 10 farm under his watch. He’s got my vote out of the mentioned candidates so far.
Eric Byrnes would be a great pick up for the fighting Phillies. He will check all the boxes on analytics and scouting. Not my first choice but have heard Middleton has a jimmy for him.
My choice would be Levine. If the Phillies can get him from the Twins, that would be a awesome move IMO.
Eric Byrnes would be a terrible choice for any front office job as he is basically Jeff Spicoli with a Baseball bat. Josh Byrnes on the other hand probably wouldn’t be so bad
Does Spicoli have to wear shoes or a shirt? That could be the true deal breaker.
You know how when you go to stores or restaurants and the sign reads “No shirt, no shoes, no service”? It never says anything about pants…
My mistake… That being said, Spicoli might just be the right choice. I kid…lol
High cost of winning for the Twins. Coaching staff FO gets pillaged.
The Phillies don’t know what the helll they are doing or what they are looking for……..what is obvious is that their offense will stink this year with JT and Didi gone. Their pitching will be better but that is only because it couldn’t get worse. I don’t really expect anything next year but still hope to be surprised…….just like every year since 1963…….1964 still hurts as I was only 11 years old then and it plays like an old movie…..Johnny Callison was the man…..may he rest in peace……..
64…ugh. My dad still talks about it.
nothing against Hill, but I really don’t see what the Marlins have done under his tenure to make him a great candidate.
Dark side, I agree. Maybe people inside baseball have some great respect with him being able to work under Loria? *shrugs*
Diversity is pretty much it
Unfortunately, looks like Hill is the only candidate left.
Does anyone remember Richie Allen putting his hand through the headlight on his car and slicing shiiit up ? A ROY having to push his stalled car and tearing up his hand…….would be unheard of now days……..before the Curt Flood FA case……what a shame…….Richie was really good………
@Shane…before my time maybe, but not the sharpest idea to push a car from a less stable part of a car such as a headlight. But that wasn’t your point
another comment section filled with melodramatics.
another useless comment about nothing
Must be Creamandtheclear, erstwhile Bleach Injector. Who else is so obsessed with harassing/trolling DarkSide830? So now it’s 3Rivers… Doesn’t this dude know he can’t hide himself when his M.O. is so obvious?
On a side note, there’s a good article on ESPN on what happened to the Phillies rebuild. As
many baseball fans are aware, they missed on many of their prospects in the last few years.
Hindsight being what it is, trading Sixto for 2 years of JTR is a prime example of getting too aggressive late in the rebuild. I hope Philly resigns him so at least they have a decent chance to compete and to make trading Sanchez away more palatable.
Did the Phillies actually need Minnesota’s permission to interview Levine if they are going to make him their top decision maker? I thought it was only for lateral moves.
Put me in… I will do it. I work cheap too.
Ruben Amaro Jr. is probably available
Amazing how many front offices are built thru the dodgers
Ng, Zaidi, Byrnes have all been around with other organizations for years. It will be interesting to see how (or if) they succeed elswhere. In the NFL several teams have plucked coaches of off Bill Belichik’s coaching staff hoping to replicate the Patriots success and every one of them has come up empty
Braves Gm AA was hired away from LA.
Multiple people in the Padres organization were with the Dodgers within the last 10 years
Ng+Zaidi. Gasparino, scouting director who’s built this core with Buehler and Co, was interviewed by multiple teams but stayed. There’s also been multiple coaches poached in last few years. I cannot think of an exec who left LA and went to a team and blew it up with bad moves. Honestly
Brian Flores is doing a nice job in Miami and it looks like Joe Judge has the Giants going in the right direction too.
I’d argue the Rays, including Friedman.
The rays are right there with LA and both are there for the same reason. No argument
These man should have more self respect than to want THAT job.
It’s either “This man” or “These men”. If you’re gonna be snarky then at the very least get your grammar straight. Did you just get off the boat?
And your point is??? They let Harper go because Soto was ready to take over. They won because Rendon and others had career years and others played way above their heads. They didn’t even win the division title, only played well at the end of the year when they needed to. So what happened to them this year? Harper didn’t return and play for them, so you can’t point your finger at him……
Guess what? The best team doesn’t always win the WS. The hottest team does.
Lower-I think that the “hottest” team was the Swedish bikini team of the 90’s.
Well Levine is staying put. That was quick.
In an odd paradox, the fact that Levine doesn’t want the job shows that he’d be the best candidate. I salute his intelligence.
Andy MacPhail as President of the Cubs from 1994 to 2006 was a disaster. The last thing that the Phillies need is MacPhail to have a hand picking a new President of baseball Ops
I hate to be too critical but it does not seem to me that Andy has ever really had his heart in this job.Middleton was enamored with his WS victories in Minnesota from 30 years ago and I think the fact that his dad and grandfather are HOF’s just was icing to the cake.
Middleton will be the one hand picking the next hire but McPhail will have a hand in recommending someone.
I thought that was a picture of Daniel Tosh
I thought the Angels might be the worst run organization in MLB, but I’m starting to think it’s my Phillies.
I shed not a tear that Klentak got demoted. He had five years to get things done and couldn’t cut it.
Forget Realmuto. Phils won’t pay the cheese it’ll take to get it done. JMHO, but money would be better spent on another top flight SP and a true CF.
Finally, would love to see Didi return. Really liked him a lot, even though I never saw his face (Always had a mask on.). He was our most consistent hitter all year. Anyone think Did would take $50 million for three years?
Didi would definitely take 3/50, but the bigger question is will Middleton agree to pay that? Don’t be surprised if they end up with a cheap option like Freddy Galvis at SS. It’s going to be a frugal year in Philly.
You may have been right about the Angels and may still be, Lou.
There are some encouraging signs that Arte Moreno managed the hiring of Perry Minasian and a handful of Minasian’s associates better than he managed previous GM hirings, and that it’s possible Middleton may eventually do the same.
Thank God Levine is staying in the Twin Cities.
Smart candidates know that the Phillies job is a death sentence. They don’t have the talent on the MLB roster to contend, they don’t have the prospects in the minors to become contenders and now the owner is looking to cut payroll. It’s a runaway train in Philly heading for a big cliff. Don’t be surprised if by 2022, they are in last place in the NL East.
*2021
Byrnes is brighter than I thought. I can’t imagine anybody who’s in a position where they’re winning and accumulating credibility within the sport would want to come and be Middleton’s scapegoat du jour.
great
Who cares?! The Phillies are just one more mismanaged, dysfunctional team that doesn’t know their @ss from a hole in the ground. Let’s get on with life & revisit this mess in, oh let’s say 24. Good night nurse!
I’m gonna be honest. I’m a life long Phillies fan and an aspiring baseball exec. I’ve been to about four or five events hosted by the Phillies looking to recruit and met multiple members of the front office, and while I had the opportunity to interact with a few excellent men and women (shout out to Alex Nakahara), it doesn’t seem like an environment I’d like to work in either.
I feel like Middleton saw how Montgomery and Amaro ran with a completely antiquated process involving very little in terms of sabermetrics, and decided to do a complete 180°. What the organization fails to realize is, it’s about a balance between the old school and new school. That’s why Friedman and Beane have been so successful.
I attribute the utter lack of EQ (taking Realmuto to a hearing for example) to viewing players as names and statistics as opposed to people. With all this in mind, watching all of these candidates withdrawing themselves from consideration is not surprising in the slightest. Middleton needs to take his hands off the wheel, fire McPhail and give whoever he hires as POBO the freedom to do what’s necessary. The fact that a baseball team in the fourth largest media market in the country hasn’t been to the playoffs in a decade is laughable. Especially when you have Harper, Nola and Wheeler.
Realistically speaking, the way this team wins is by trading Segura to the Jays for Hatch and a mid-tier prospect, signing Kim, ponying up to retain Realmuto (low salary in 21 for lux tax, highest salaries in years 2-4, slighly lower in year 5 *and 6 if necessary) and taking advantage of the Reds cutting costs, and trading for Gray. I’d imagine if you took Miley’s contract too, you could probably complete it for Moniak and McArthur.
Then you build up the bullpen. I’d take Packy Naughton and/or Joel Kuhnel in the Rule 5,
grab O’Day and Holland on the cheap and move Velazquez to the bullpen full-time. I’d also consider signing Daniel Alvarez, Alex Powers and Adalberto Mejia to minor deals. Even if they have to pay the luxury tax in 21, Miley, Cutch and Arrieta come off the books in 2022. Plus you’re shedding salary in the Segura trade.
Now you’re looking at a rotation of Nola, Gray, Wheeler, Eflin, Arrieta
A bullpen of Holland, Neris, Velazquez, O’Day, Naughton, Arano, Miley, Brogdon
A line-up of Realmuto, Hoskins, Kingery, Kim, Bohm, Hasley, Cutch and Harper.
A bench of Knapp, Quinn and whoever else.
Miley’s the sixth starter and Howards right after him, in line to join the rotation full time in 2022.
I love the Phillies. I’m a proud Phillies fan through and through but they need a significant culture change.
I’m just going to point out one very basic thing to you…
Under the current CBA, the tax threshold on payroll is calculated using AAV of a players deal. It doesn’t matter if you pay $5m in 2021, and 15m in 2022, you’re taxed at the average – $10m – for CBT purposes in 2021. Distribution of money doesn’t matter, it’s total contract value.
I mention this because of your comment about a JTR reunion with a low figure this year to avoid CBT. It wouldn’t matter, just total contract value.
So, if you do aspire to join a front office, no offense but you’ll need to get better versed in what the rules and implications are for moves being made. Comments at an interview like back loading a deal to avoid CBT would be a red flag.
It’s not a flame, just some friendly advice.
I appreciate it.
Arrieta is already off the books. Unless you’re suggesting they resign him? I like many of your other ideas though.
From my perspective it seems the Phillies ( like the NY Mets) have not given clear signals to prospective candidates for PBO or GM , that that individual would have complete autonomy. In the Phillies case, Andy McPhail is still there and seems to be part of the hiring process. Because of this unclear message about who would be in charge, no serious candidate wants to take the job, IMO.
I think it’s a little different (and worse) for the Phillies. MacPhail has openly stated that he will leave when someone else is hired. The Phillies are just a mess and have a lot of financial uncertainty.
You are correct
At this stage you have to wonder if the ownership group with Middleton at the forefront is the biggest impediment to filling the job.
So that leaves the guy who ran the Marlins into the ground the past several years as the only viable candidate? Sounds about right.
I assume Joe Girardi walks after a few years of bad management and pretends to retire. Then signs a deal on MLB TV or something or becomes some sort of advisor which allows him to stay home. It’s going to be grim baseball for a while.
Pity Byrnes opted to stay in LA. Obviously, even though he appeared to be the fans #1 choice, he’s a lot smarter than we are. Right now, the Phillies are a dead end street. Current MLB team isn’t all that great. Recent drafts have been bad save for maybe Bohm and Spencer Howard.
Anyone taking this job, be it GM or POBO, knows he has a long row to hoe before we see anything resembling our success through 2008-2011.
But is Philly ready for another rebuild? Doubtful, so the quick answer is to spend some big bucks and fill in the glaring holes. However, as a previous poster noted, Cigar Guy appears to be clutching his wallet with both hands.
Might just be looking at another season of approximately .500 ball where we are teased for a few months into thinking we might make the playoffs only to be disappointed yet again.
Lots of folks saying no to what should be a plum job….. lot of money, great fans, SOME talent….dunno, I think Sean Spicer is available…..
Bringing the DWTS cred with him.
I find it interesting that everyone is turning down these jobs with the Mets and Phillies. Is it because of the state the teams are in? Why exactly? It is very interesting to me.
I was just wondering the same thing. Wonder if they’re hearing something in the interviews that doesn’t set well?
Just seems like they are going after people who already have a sweet gig. Enticing someone to leave good organizations isn’t working
The Phillies job seems problematic. They want to contend, but the owner doesn’t want to spend and seems uncomfortably hands on. The former GM is still in place, but pushed off to the side. There’s also a lame duck president. If any candidate was thinking the opportunity over and then saw Middleton’s over-the-top reaction to the Wheeler news, I can see them withdrawing.
One item rarely mentioned is the continuing impact Covid is having. It won’t be easy to develop personal relationships and build out a new front office team when everything is still remote. Hard to hit the ground running. Might be better to wait a year or two for a better situation.
There’s more to this story than they are telling us…whether it’s money, or candidates knowing ahead of time the boundaries and freedom to perform their jobs. I wouldn’t be surprised if it has something to do with Middleton wanting to call the shots. Just seems like ever since JM took Majority steak holder, things have been falling to pieces. He’s a man who thinks
He’s smarter than everyone else
The next candidate is…of course…
2009 MLB Executive of the year…2009 Philly Sportswriters Association Executive of the year…and 2009 Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductee…former Red Sox and Mets first base coach…there is no f-ing way they do this I hope.