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Andy MacPhail

Phillies Notes: MacPhail, Sandberg, Nola, Lee

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The Phillies’ pursuit of longtime baseball exec Andy MacPhail for a position in their front office is “quite real,” a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. (CSN Philly’s Jim Salisbury first reported Philadelphia’s interest in MacPhail.) Rosenthal writes that adding MacPhail could create an interesting scenario, as it would potentially put MacPhail, who served as the Cubs’ president when Ryne Sandberg was inducted into the Hall of Fame, in position to fire Sandberg as the Phillies’ manager. Rosenthal writes that many within the industry feel that Sandberg is overmatched, but he adds that if current president Pat Gillick were going to dismiss Sandberg, he’d probably have done so by now. As such, the decision may fall to Gillick’s successor, who could make the move himself or hire a new general manager to do so.

A few more notes on a Phillies team that seems destined for change on the roster, in the front office and in the dugout in the coming months…

  • GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told reporters, including MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, that he’s “fully supportive” of Sandberg and expects him to finish out the 2015 season as the team’s manager. Sandberg added that he’s not concerned about potentially being on the hot seat, telling reporters, “I worry about the game today and what has to be done today. That’s the focus and the mindset for me.”
  • The Phillies placed Jerome Williams on the disabled list and have yet to announce a starter for Sunday’s contest, but Salisbury writes that it won’t be top prospect Aaron Nola. The No. 7 pick in the 2014 draft, Nola is slated to make his Triple-A debut tomorrow evening and will continue on that schedule. “We have to do what’s right for Aaron Nola and his development and that’s not going to change,” Amaro said of Nola. “And he’s going to be in the big leagues at some point this year. I don’t think there’s any question about that, if he continues to progress the way he’s progressed so far.”
  • Within that piece, Salisbury also provides an update on the injured Cliff Lee. Following an exam on Tuesday of this week, it was recommended that Lee hold off from throwing for another three to four weeks. Amaro said that in about a month’s time, the team will have a clearer image of Lee’s future. The former Cy Young winner has been resting a small tear in his flexor tendon in an attempt to avoid a surgical repair that would come with a nine-month recovery timeline.

Phillies Interested In Executive Role For Andy MacPhail

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The Phillies are eyeing longtime baseball executive Andy MacPhail as a potential new leader for the franchise, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. The specific role in which the Phillies are interested is yet unclear, but team president Pat Gillick has said in the past that he does not intend to hold his current role for a particularly lengthy term.

MacPhail would be more than qualified to serve as the club’s president, as his resume is extensive and impressive. The 63-year-old was the general manager of the Twins from 1985-94, during which time the team won its first two (and only) World Series titles, in 1987 and 1991. MacPhail left the Twins to become the president and CEO of the Cubs — a role he held until 2006.

After his Cubs career, MacPhail became president of baseball operations for the Orioles, helping to assemble much of the core that’s in place in Baltimore now. MacPhail was at the helm for the O’s when the team made the franchise-altering trade that sent Erik Bedard to Seattle in exchange for a package of talent headlined by Adam Jones and Chris Tillman. MacPhail was also still fronting Baltimore’s baseball ops department when he plucked both Tommy Hunter and Chris Davis from the Rangers in exchange for Koji Uehara. Additionally, he acquired J.J. Hardy from the Twins in exchange for a pair of minor league relievers, neither of whom made much of an impact in Minnesota.

Suffice it to say, MacPhail is a respected baseball mind with a good deal of experience when it comes to rebuilding franchises. As such, he makes for a logical target to help the Phillies in some capacity as they look to retool a franchise that has gone from a lasting power in the NL East to the bottom of the MLB cellar in recent years.

Salisbury notes that it’s not known whether the team would consider bringing on someone like MacPhail during the season. However, Salisbury also keenly notes that even if MacPhail were brought aboard in some form of consulting capacity during the season, that would give him plenty of time to evaluate both the front office and the field staff heading into what could be an offseason that is rife with organizational changes. Doing so would also allow a new hire to have some say in a potential landmark Cole Hamels trade, to say nothing of potential deals involving Jonathan Papelbon, Aaron Harang, Ben Revere, Ryan Howard and others.

AL East Notes: MacPhail, Cano, Rays, Blue Jays

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Bobby Valentine has officially been dismissed, which means the Red Sox will embark on their second managerial search in as many years. GM Ben Cherington has said he hopes to conclude the search earlier this time. Here are some notes on Boston’s division rivals…

  • Former Orioles president Andy MacPhail told Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun that he's happy for the team’s fans, players and executives. He acknowledged that it "would have been a lot of fun" to be present for Baltimore's playoff run, but said he doesn't regret stepping down to spend time with his family. MacPhail said he's starting to think about working in baseball again and noted that, at 59 years old, he's "way too young" to do nothing. "I think there are a variety of things that would interest me," he told Connolly.
  • MacPhail noted that Dan Duquette has done an excellent job of finding starting pitching depth this year.
  • Executives suggest an extension for Robinson Cano could cost the Yankees $200MM, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan writes. The second baseman says he hasn’t “thought about anything," but the Yankees can’t allow him to hit free agency in Passan’s view. New York will exercise its $15MM option for Cano after the season, delaying his free agency until the end of the 2013 season.
  • Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman said he's "not going to be flippant" about Tampa Bay's impressive pitching depth this coming offseason, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Friedman also said he expects to talk with Larry Reynolds, the agent for B.J. Upton, even though the sides aren't expected to agree to a new contract.
  • Mike Axisa rounded up the latest Red Sox-related rumors earlier today. Here's one more note from Boston: the Blue Jays would want “a decent player” in a deal for manager John Farrell, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports.

Orioles & Andy MacPhail Links: Saturday

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Yesterday we learned that Andy MacPhail will step down as Orioles president of baseball operations when his contract expires on October 31st. The decision isn't a total surprise, but it will obviously have a big impact on the O's going forward. Let's round up some links on the move…

  • Dan Connolly and Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun say that the team's hierarchy has begun to take shape following MacPhail's departure. The situation with Buck Showalter could be similar to when Davey Johnson was hired as manager in 1995, and Johnson helped lure Pat Gillick over to serve as GM.
  • MacPhail told Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com that he doesn't expect to offer any input on his replacement.
  • Dan Jennings of the Marlins and Tony Lacava of the Blue Jays are on the club's short list for GM, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter).
  • The Orioles have not yet asked permission to interview anyone, according to Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun (via Twitter), but that should change soon.
  • Both Connolly and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reiterate that Showalter will remain in the dugout and not take over as GM (all Twitter links). The team is putting together a list of GM candidates according to Rosenthal, and Connolly reports that Showalter will be instrumental in the decision.
  • MASNSports.com's Roch Kubatko speculates about some potential candidates to replace MacPhail. Here is MLBTR's list of the top 20 GM candidates.
  • Connolly grades MacPhail's tenure as a C-, mostly on the strength of his trades (acquiring Adam Jones, Luke Scott, J.J. Hardy, etc).
  • Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com says the first job for the new regime will be to correct the team's scouting and player development system, which has come up short in recent years.

AL East Links: Red Sox, MacPhail, Yankees

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Two of the five AL East clubs made the playoffs, and both will begin their quest for the World Series later today. The Rays and Rangers play at 5pm ET, the Yankees and Tigers at 8:30pm ET. Let's round up some notes from the only division with four 81+ win teams in 2011…

Orioles Leadership Notes: Showalter, MacPhail

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It appears likely that Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail will step aside after the season, so before long the Cubs won't be the only team considering GM candidates around the league. It's possible that the Orioles won't have to look far though…

  • Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun believes that the leading candidate to replace MacPhail is none other than current field manager Buck Showalter. Neither Showalter nor MacPhail will talk about the expected leadership change in Baltimore, but the club could announce that MacPhail is stepping down as soon as Thursday. 
  • Showalter hinted that the Orioles will make changes Thursday, according to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.
  • Showalter will not attempt to be the manager and GM at once, according to Connolly. He'll either pick his replacement or help owner Peter Angelos find someone for the GM's role. MacPhail could also have input in the search, according to Connolly, who points out that Angelos tends to hire experienced baseball men. 
  • Connolly doesn't expect the Orioles to hire anyone under 45 and can't see the club selecting a "whiz kid" to take over baseball operations.
  • MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli hears that John Hart, the former GM of the Indians and Rangers who has ties to Showalter, is not a likely candidate to succeed MacPhail.
  • MLBTR's GM candidates series introduced Matt Klentak of the Orioles. I also spoke to Thad Levine of the Rangers, who once rooted for the Orioles with Josh Byrnes, the current Padres exec and former D'Backs GM.

MacPhail Decides On Future With Orioles

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Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail has reached a decision about his future with the team, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Two high-ranking Orioles officials told Nightengale that they expect MacPhail to walk away without pursuing an extension.  Said MacPhail to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun: "You can get two sources to say the moon is made of green cheese."  He told Nightengale, "Let's just get to the end of the year.  And see what unfolds. We'll see. We'll see."

The Orioles have brought several GM candidates up internally, according to Nightengale. GM Brian Cashman, whose contract with the Yankees expires after the season, tops Baltimore’s list, according to Nightengale. Orioles manager Buck Showalter says he’s not interested in moving to the GM’s office, but he’s expected to have a role in the team's decision.

Quick Hits: Nationals, Pirates, MacPhail, Astros

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Links for Saturday…

  • The Nationals plan on having Davey Johnson meet up with the team tomorrow in Chicago before flying to Anaheim with them, reports Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post (Twitter links). ESPN's Buster Olney, meanwhile, notes that Johnson's contract ensures that he'll be the manager for this year only. The two sides will re-evaluate things after the season.
  • Tim Britton of The Providence Journal says the Pirates were the big losers in the Jason Bay-Manny Ramirez trade.
  • Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun spoke to Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail about his contract, which expires after the season. "I have always taken the position, unlike one of my good friends in the game Jim Riggleman, let's just see how we do," said MacPhail. "Let's get to the end of the year and see how we do and take it from there."
  • Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle reports that the Astros transfer of ownership from Drayton McLane to Jim Crane likely won't happen until mid-July (or later) as MLB focuses its efforts on the Dodgers (Twitter link).
  • Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch addressed the speculation about how Albert Pujols' injury could impact his contract negotiations with the Cardinals after the season.
  • McLaren will not be leaving the Nationals, reports Bill Ladson of MLB.com (Twitter links). He will not be bench coach and will instead stay in another capacity.
  • The Nats can expect another resignation, this time from acting manager John McLaren, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. McLaren served as bench coach under Jim Riggleman.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports spoke to a source that is doubtful the Giants would move any of their big league pitchers to improve the offense (Twitter link). San Francisco has scored just 261 runs this year, the fewest runs in the game.
  • Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun-Times says the Cubs front office plans to give the team a few more weeks to see if they can salvage the season before deciding to sell. The front office will meet next week to sort some of this stuff out.
  • Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun mentioned that Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and Reds GM Walt Jocketty have swung trades in the past and spent some time together yesterday before their clubs played. He notes that the two clubs appear to match up well in a potential trade as well.
  • Baseball America's Matt Eddy has this week's collection of minor league transactions, which includes a slew of draft pick and undrafted free agent signings.

Lame Duck General Managers

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By now, I'm sure you've looked over our list of players that will be free agents after the 2011 season numerous times, but what about general managers? With some help from Cot's Baseball Contracts, here's the list of GMs without contracts for 2012…

  • Andy MacPhail, Orioles – Technically, MacPhail isn't the GM, he's the president of baseball operations. He's still the guy calling the shots though. Last October we heard that he doesn't have any plans to approach owner Peter Angelos about a new deal before his current one expires.
  • Neal Huntington, Pirates – Team president Frank Coonelly said he expects Huntington to be in Pittsburgh "for a long time" earlier this year.
  • Walt Jocketty, Reds – Cincinnati is clearly a team on the rise, so it seems likely that ownership would want to bring Jocketty back after the season.
  • Dave Dombrowski, Tigers – A few months ago we heard that the fates of Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland could be a package deal based on the team's performance in 2011.
  • Brian Cashman, Yankees – The third longest-tenured GM in the game would seem to be on rocky ground after being over-ruled by ownership on the Rafael Soriano signing, but we heard afterwards that he still has the "full backing" of the Steinbrenners.

Odds & Ends: Gross, Cubs, Dunn, Ellis, Pujols

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Links for the final day of the 2010 regular season…

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