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Matt Klentak

NL East Notes: Hoskins, Phillies, Mets, Marlins

By Steve Adams | October 2, 2018 at 9:42am CDT

Rhys Hoskins’ move from first base to left field in 2018 didn’t exactly prove to be smooth, as the young slugger turned in one of the worst statistical seasons of any outfielder in baseball (-24 Defensive Runs Saved, -19 Outs Above Average, -11.3 Ultimate Zone Rating). Hoskins has already spoken about a desire to continue to improve, though he did admit when asked by Matt Breen of Philly.com that he’d prefer to be back at first base in an ideal world. Hoskins emphasized that he’s told both GM Matt Klentak and manager Gabe Kapler that he’ll play wherever he’s asked but spoke about the comfort level he feels at first base as opposed to in the outfield.

In his season-end press conference, Klentak acknowledged that moving Hoskins back to first base is “something we’ve thought a lot about,” Breen writes, though clearly there are numerous moving parts in that scenario. The Phils experimented with Carlos Santana at third base in September, though he comes with his own defensive shortcomings there, and that shift would render Maikel Franco without a spot. Expected offseason pursuits of marquee free agents Bryce Harper and/or Manny Machado also figure to factor into the calculus. Though there are dozens of roads the Phils could take to get there, Klentak stressed that “there is no question” that the team needs to improve its defense.

More from the division…

  • With the offseason upon the Phillies, the focus in Philadelphia will shift from Kapler to Klentak, writes Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer. It’ll be a pivotal winter for Klentak’s future in the organization, he notes, as there’ll be pressure to generate more success with this offseason’s group of free agents than there was with last year’s crop. Klentak himself spoke about the performance of last year’s group of free agents, noting that Jake Arrieta, Carlos Santana, Pat Neshek and Tommy Hunter were fairly productive on the whole — especially relative to other free-agent signings throughout the league. Without improvement, Brookover, adds, the GM could find himself on the hot seat. It’s an interesting example of the importance of sequencing over the course of a given season; in a vacuum, a 14-win improvement for the Phillies looks like a clear victory. And had the team started poorly or even found a more evenly paced route to an 80-82 finish, the narrative would likely be different. Instead, their late collapse adds sizable pressure to improve even when the year-over-year win total has already generally trended in the right direction.
  • Braves assistant general manager Perry Minasian is of interest to the Mets as they continue to compile a list of GM candidates, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post, though there are not yet any firm indications that the Mets have asked permission to interview him. Puma adds that former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington is a “strong possibility” to receive an interview, as has previously been suggested, though the timing remains unclear. Initial interviews will be conducted by assistant GM John Ricco and COO Jeff Wilpon, Puma notes, with Fred Wilpon unlikely to be heavily involved in the process until finalists have been selected.
  • The 2019 season will have a different feel for the Marlins than the 2018 season, writes Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Namely, while the Fish were content to let some players develop at the big league level this past season, there will be more expectations for immediate results next season. Rule 5 picks Elieser Hernandez and Brett Graves will likely spend more time in the minors now that they can be optioned, he notes, while players who struggle (as Lewis Brinson did in the Majors this past season) might be sent back down for more seasoning as the team strives to improve its results. “Obviously, we did some things this year where it wasn’t necessary you had to produce to be here,” said manager Don Mattingly. “But moving forward I have the sense that’s going to change. If you don’t produce, it’s not going to be a year where we’ll let you keep developing. At some point, you’re going to have to produce.”
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Atlanta Braves Miami Marlins New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies Gabe Kapler Matt Klentak Rhys Hoskins

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Klentak: Phillies To Pursue “Significant Changes” This Winter

By Jeff Todd | September 27, 2018 at 10:38am CDT

With the Phillies continuing their late-season free-fall, GM Matt Klentak held an interesting Q&A with reporters including Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Despite improvements, Klentak says, “significant changes are necessary.”

That conclusion surely sets the stage for a fascinating, high-stakes winter in Philly. The organization has long been expected to be a major factor in the upcoming market. Having made some notable acquisitions last winter and competed for much of the 2018 season, the stakes are raised for a productive offseason.

Of course, winning the hot stove season isn’t a goal unto itself, so Klentak and company are surely taking a hard look at just how to approach the opportunities to come. As he puts it, “we all need to fight the narrative that it’s a simple fix.”

That could be read as a plea for media and fans not to fixate on some of the biggest names available this winter. It’s also perhaps an acknowledgment that the roster comes with some challenges — some that have arisen largely by happenstance, others relating to decisions made recently by the organization. At the same time, it’s loaded with interesting talent that makes near-term competitiveness seem quite achievable.

For now, of course, Klentak isn’t getting into all of the details or expounding upon the team’s specific hopes in the roster-building department. He did note that the organization will be looking to find the change it hopes for not only through the free-agent market, but also in exploring trades and projecting internal improvements.

In that regard, it’s at least as interesting to contemplate some of Klentak’s comments regarding the season that’s now drawing to a close. As he rightly suggests, the club’s ultimate middle-of-the-road outcomes haven’t strayed far from pre-season expectations. While there was surely a missed opportunity here, given the position the club was in as of mid-August, the organization took its shot at the trade deadline and there’s still clear evidence of progress.

There are also lessons to be drawn from what Klentak calls “a good year for us to experiment.” Viewed from that angle, perhaps some refinement in approach — roster construction included — is slated for assessment and implementation. For instance, the team’s defensive alignment has produced some worrying outcomes. Making the necessary tweaks will, as noted above, not necessarily simply be a matter of acquiring high-end new players.

If that all portends a less-than-straightforward upcoming offseason, well, that seems to have been contemplated in advance. “I think in order to take this organization where it needs to go we had to have a year like this, where we pushed the envelope,” Klentak says.

Having done so, the focus now shifts: from gathering talent, and trying out new ways of deploying it, to achieving the desired bottom-line results. It’s unclear as yet how the Phils will set about re-working their roster to accomplish that, but the possibilities are abundant.

What is clear is that Klentak will continue to head up the baseball operations department for his fourth season, while Gabe Kapler will remain at the helm of the dugout. It’ll certainly be fascinating to see what direction the club takes this winter and how it translates onto the field in 2019.

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Matt Klentak On Phillies’ Season

By Kyle Downing | September 16, 2018 at 8:50pm CDT

As of July 31st, the Phillies were sitting comfortably in first place in the National League’s eastern division. That lead, and the talent that backed up the position in the standings, was enough to prompt ownership and management to make a few upgrades prior to the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline. Indeed, the club continued to make moves afterwards, including the acquisitions of Justin Bour and Jose Bautista.

Sadly for Phillies fans, however, that hasn’t lasted down the stretch. The club sits 6.5 games back of the Braves in the division race, and 5.5 contests behind the Dodgers and Rockies in competition for the second Wild Card spot. The offense, rotation and bullpen have all suffered setbacks at key moments, which has resulted in the team losing major ground in the playoff hunt.

MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki wonders whether the Phillies regressed, or simply returned to reality after an unsustainable good start. Despite the club’s performance down the stretch, general manager Matt Klentak has taken an optimistic take on their analytical and managerial approach to gameplay.

“When I was brought in here three years ago I wasn’t brought in here to do things the way they’d always been done,” Klentak said. “You guys remember that there was a narrative surrounding the Phillies that they were slow to adjust. So, that is our job, to move the needle, to stay current and win baseball games.”  Klentak further explained that the Phillies are “not doing things so radically different that this has never been seen in baseball before” – even if some of those changes might be new to the organization.

“Candidly, this was an excellent season to try new things with a young roster and with relatively modest expectations and we did,” the Phillies’ general manager added. “Some of them worked and we’ll continue to use them, some of them didn’t and we won’t use them anymore. But we’ll continue pressing forward because that is our job.”

Klentak was also asked whether post-deadline roster chemistry might have had an impact on the club’s team-wide slump beginning in August. The manager assessed the situation and concluded that no one element was at fault for the collapse, or else they’d have been quick to identify it and make that adjustment. “We have theories about different things that may have contributed. It’s probably some kind of combination of a lot of things. I will not sit here and tell you the chemistry changed in such a way that that is the reason we struggled. I don’t believe that.”

Of course, it’s feasible to wonder whether the Phillies overachieved in the season’s first four months and simply regressed after the end of July. Klentak acknowledged that the team considered that possibility as the deadline approached, but felt compelled to go for it and acquire Wilson Ramos, Asdrubal Cabrera and Aaron Loup.  Klentak decided to further “double down” in August by adding Bour, Bautista, and Luis Avilan.

Though the playoffs are now a long shot for a Phillies club sitting 5.5 games back in the wild card with 14 left to play, the club is well-positioned to make a run at big names such as Bryce Harper and Manny Machado in free agency.  The club has six players under contract for about $70MM in 2019, plus a full slate of arbitration eligible players.  For a club that ran payrolls in the range of $140-175MM not long ago, just about anything will be on the table when the bidding begins.

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Managerial Notes: Mets, Phillies, Klentak, Bochy, Guillen

By Mark Polishuk | September 29, 2017 at 9:46pm CDT

David Wright and Jacob deGrom were two of several Mets players who weren’t pleased by the teammates who anonymously criticized manager Terry Collins in a recent piece by Newsday’s Marc Carig.  “It was cowardly, in my opinion,” Wright told Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News.  “I have been very fortunate in my career.  I haven’t had too many gripes, but when I did, I went and talked to Terry or whoever the manager is.  His door has always been open and he’s always listened.”  It seems a foregone conclusion that Collins won’t return to manage the Mets in 2018, and the manager himself didn’t want to comment on many of items in Carig’s piece, other than to take exception to the idea that his usage of Jeurys Familia contributed to the reliever’s surgery to address an arterial clot in his right shoulder.

Some more managerial notes from around baseball…

  • “In my mind, we have reached a turning point in this rebuild,” Phillies GM Matt Klentak told reporters (including PhillyVoice.com’s Ryan Lawrence) about why Pete Mackanin was moved to a front office position rather than manage the Phils next season.  “We see our roster right now is littered with young players who look to have a very, very bright future. It’s time to look forward. That’s the message today: it’s time to look forward.”  In Lawrence’s view, Klentak’s answers were somewhat indirect, especially since Mackanin was just given a contract extension in May.  Both Lawrence and Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer believe Klentak is now taking a larger role in the Phillies’ rebuild, given that several of the team’s top young talents were brought into the organization by previous (since fired) front office personnel.  Brookover figures the new skipper will be younger and more analytically-minded, and he cites Dusty Wathan as “the smart choice” for the job since Wathan is so familiar with Philadelphia’s young players.  Wathan has managed in the Phillies’ farm system for the last decade, including managing the Triple-A affiliate in 2017.
  • Sources close to Giants manager Bruce Bochy believe he’ll certainly stay on until his contract is up after the 2019 season, CSNBayArea.com’s Alex Pavlovic writes.  Despite the Giants’ dreadful season, there is no danger of Bochy being fired, and though the manager has undergone some health issues in recent years, Bochy is intent on righting the ship next year.  “I want to leave the Giants organization better than when I came here and I want to get this team back on track. This is my passion,” Bochy said.
  • Ozzie Guillen hasn’t received an interview request since being fired by Miami four years ago, but the former Marlins and White Sox manager is still hopeful of another chance at managing a big league team, he tells Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press.  Fenech believes Guillen would be an interesting candidate for the Tigers job as the club embarks on a rebuilding process, though it isn’t clear whether Guillen is one of the names under consideration for the job.
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New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies San Francisco Giants Bruce Bochy Matt Klentak Ozzie Guillen Terry Collins

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NL East Links: Kemp, Cespedes, Mets, Glover, Baker, Phillies

By Mark Polishuk | June 3, 2017 at 12:33pm CDT

Matt Kemp has been such a boost to the Braves lineup that Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution doesn’t see the team shopping Kemp as a deadline trade chip.  Kemp is 32, is a limited defensive outfielder and has a hefty remaining salary owed through the 2019 season, yet Bradley feels the veteran has made himself a near-indispensable part of the roster.  Kemp has been outstanding since joining the Braves last season, including a .345/.381/.608 slash line and 10 homers in 181 PA this year.  Bradley also notes that Freddie Freeman’s production improved with Kemp hitting behind him, which gives Kemp even more value.

Some notes from around the NL East…

  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson said there wasn’t any new updates on Yoenis Cespedes’ DL situation, which leads the New York Post’s Adam Rubin to doubt whether Cespedes will be able to return to action this week.  Cespedes’ rehab stint for a hamstring injury was interrupted by some soreness in his long bothersome right quad muscle, and he has yet to resume full running, though he has been jogging.  Alderson had previously said that Cespedes could potentially return for DH duty when the Mets are in Texas for an interleague series with the Rangers this week, though that timeline seems tenuous at this point.
  • Also from Rubin, he reports that the Mets “aren’t likely” to go after relievers Bobby Parnell and Ernesto Frieri.  The two right-handers recently opted out of minor league deals (Parnell with the Royals, Frieri with the Yankees) and are now free agents.  Parnell, of course, has a notable history with the Mets, pitching for the club from 2008-15 and serving as the team’s closer in 2013.
  • Though rookie Koda Glover has looked excellent as the Nationals’ closer, Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post argues that the Nats should still pursue an experienced ninth-inning man before the trade deadline.  Glover is still an unproven commodity with some durability questions and the Nationals’ bullpen is lacking in overall depth, plus Glover could still excel as a setup man down the stretch.
  • The Nationals’ pen is also one of many topics covered in a reader mailbag piece from Jorge Castillo and Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, with Castillo feeling that the Nats will indeed obtain a reliever at the deadline.  It may not necessarily be a big-name closer, however, given how Glover continues to perform over the next two months.
  • From that same mailbag item, Janes writes that there don’t appear to be any extension talks between Dusty Baker and the Nationals, though that could be a function of ownership’s stance against making lengthy commitments to managers.  It seems that both sides want to continue the relationship and all signs point towards Baker returning in 2018 (assuming the Nats continue to win, of course), though Janes notes that the team will have to pay market price for Baker given the success the Nationals have enjoyed in his tenure.
  • Despite the Phillies’ struggles, GM Matt Klentak reiterated to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki and other media that the team hasn’t altered its approach to promoting its top minor league position players.  The likes of J.P. Crawford, Roman Quinn, Rhys Hoskins and others at Triple-A could provide the Phils with a boost or at least give the youngsters some experience at the big league level as part of the team’s overall rebuilding process.  The Phillies aren’t going to promote their prospects, however, until there is a clear opportunity for regular playing time and until each player is fully prepared for the majors.  “To expose players to the big league level before they’re ready isn’t doing them any favors, nor is it doing the organization any favors. We have to constantly balance that,” Klentak said.
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Atlanta Braves New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies Washington Nationals Bobby Parnell Dusty Baker Ernesto Frieri Koda Glover Matt Kemp Matt Klentak Yoenis Cespedes

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NL East Notes: Fernandez, Phillies, Medlen, Braves

By Jeff Todd | June 1, 2017 at 9:58am CDT

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald details the efforts by Major League Baseball and the Marlins to set up a fund for the infant daughter of deceased star Jose Fernandez. As Jackson explains, the money appears to have flowed from an insurance company to the league, then on to the team and into a trust for her benefit. Those interested in the specifics should read the exhaustively reported piece.

Here’s more from the NL East:

  • Phillies GM Matt Klentak sat down for an interesting chat with Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com, which you can watch or read about right here. It’s certainly worth a full look for Phils’ fans, as Klentak discusses the team’s woeful performance in May. He emphasized a need to remain patient and keep the focus on the future, but acknowledged the disappointment. As for two particularly important players, Klentak says the team wants to let them work things out at the major league level. There are “reasons to believe” that Maikel Franco will bust out of his slump, he says, and the organization is “committed to giving Maikel more time to get out of this.” And center fielder Odubel Herrera is still a valuable contributor in the field, Klentak notes, explaining that his struggles at the plate may be due to the fact that he is currently “not taking pitches as well as he used to.”
  • Righty Kris Medlen is still working on a comeback attempt with the Braves, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Medlen has moved up to the Double-A level and says he feels good physically after dealing with a host of arm problems and redeveloping his mechanics to compensate. The 31-year-old has allowed six earned runs on 16 hits while striking out ten batters and issuing six walks over 15 2/3 total innings through three starts. He last turned in a full and productive MLB season back in 2013 with the Braves.
  • Of more immediate concern to the Braves, the current big league club is struggling with its glovework, as O’Brien also reports. Even putting aside one horrific inning on Tuesday, Atlanta has allowed a ton of unearned runs. Metrics are split on the overall performance of the Braves fielders: UZR grades them rather well in spite of the miscues, while Defensive Runs Saved values the unit in the bottom ten leaguewide. Young shortstop Dansby Swanson has already racked up 11 errors, though both grading systems still see him as an average performer at short.
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Atlanta Braves Miami Marlins Philadelphia Phillies Dansby Swanson Jose Fernandez Kris Medlen Maikel Franco Matt Klentak Odubel Herrera

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Phillies Notes: Roster, Herrera, Klentak, Burnett

By Mark Polishuk | March 18, 2017 at 4:00pm CDT

Some notes from The City Of Brotherly Love…

  • With a full 40-man roster, the Phillies have several tough choices to make before Opening Day, CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury writes.  Chris Coghlan, Daniel Nava and Brock Stassi are in camp on minor league deals and, if any make the team, someone else would have to be displaced.  The Phils have two bench spots open, in Salisbury’s estimation, plus another bench spot for the backup catcher (either Andrew Knapp or Ryan Hanigan, the latter of whom isn’t on the 40-man).
  • The Phillies’ five-year, $30.5MM extension with Odubel Herrera is already looking like a shrewd move for the team compared to other extensions for center fielders, David Murphy of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines.  The Braves signed Ender Inciarte to a similar extension (five years and $30.525MM, with a sixth year option) while the Rays locked Kevin Kiermaier up for six years and an option for $53.5MM.  All three are strong-to-great defenders but Herrera is the best hitter of the trio, Murphy notes, plus a year younger.  The extension also allows the Phillies future flexibility under the luxury tax, making it especially valuable for a big-market club that aims to spending freely once it emerges from its rebuilding phase.
  • General manager Matt Klentak sat down with MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand for an interview detailing how Klentak got his start in baseball, his path to becoming Philadelphia’s GM, some of the Phillies’ offseason moves and more.
  • Sean Burnett took a rather extreme measure to combat his elbow pain in 2013, the southpaw told PhillyVoice.com’s Ryan Lawrence last week.  Burnett was dealing with a damaged ligament that was not quite damaged enough to require Tommy John surgery (Burnett had already undergone a TJ operation in 2004), so he decided to force the issue.  “I would go back to my [hotel] room, set up some pillows on the headboard and would chuck balls at it hoping it would pop just so I could get it fixed,” Burnett said.  “The pain I was in was excruciating.  I knew it wasn’t going to get any better.  If you throw a ball long enough you know what it’s going to take and how your body feels.”  Burnett’s elbow finally gave out during a game against the Mariners in May 2014 and he underwent the surgery, which kept him out of action until this past September when he returned to the big leagues in the Nationals bullpen.  After signing a minor league deal with the Phillies this winter, Burnett is competing to be the second lefty in Philadelphia’s bullpen.
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Post-Winter Meetings Notes: Sale, Sox, Blackmon, Rays, Mets, Phils, Giants, Ross

By Jeff Todd | December 10, 2016 at 12:23am CDT

Baseball’s Winter Meetings always provides fascinating theater, and this year was no different. There’s quite a lot of information to digest with the meetings wrapped up — and also some interesting reading for those who are curious about how it all goes down. Writing for ESPN.com, Eno Sarris provides a fascinating look at some underappreciated elements of baseball decisionmaking, ranging from the mandates of owners to the frequent lack of understanding that the general public has as to what alternatives organizations realistically have when they decide upon their moves. The increasing complexities of baseball dealing are also covered by ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield, who discusses the impact of the largely ubiquitous utilization of advanced analysis in the game. With virtually all of the thirty MLB organizations employing fleets of sophisticated staffers, he argues, it’s harder to extract value from trades — which may help to explain the risks taken in some of the Winter Meetings’ biggest deals.

With the Winter Meetings in the books, here are some notes on the work that was completed and that remains to be done:

  • On Wednesday, the White Sox shipped ace lefty Chris Sale to the Red Sox in exchange for a heralded foursome of prospects. That swap, and its build-up, dominated the headlines at the Winter Meetings. Boston president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski discussed the process that led to the move in an excellent interview with Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. He not only provided an interesting account of the information gathering and processing that goes on at the Winter Meetings, as teams jockey for position and look to arrange fits on trades and signings, but went into the details on the pursuit of Sale. The sides built off of their prior “preliminary conversations,” and honed in on an agreement late Tuesday night as the sides began to line up on the complementary pieces that would go to Chicago along with the two headlining prospects (Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech). Momentum seemingly began to build as early as Friday, before the meetings kicked off, as Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com explains. It was at that point that White Sox GM Rick Hahn notified Dombrowski that he’d be willing to consider a different sort of return — presumably, top minor leaguers rather than young MLB assets — than had been discussed over the summer. The Nationals and Astros also dangled significant pieces; Hahn notes that “there were similar-type players being offered from other clubs,” leading to “a level of excitement in that room as we debated which was the best path for us.”
  • In the aftermath of the Sale trade, as well as the ensuing swap that sent Adam Eaton to D.C., the White Sox are prepared to part with other notable veterans if they can generate sufficient interest, as Hayes further reports. That could potentially include first baseman Jose Abreu — a former teammate of Moncada’s in Cuba — though it’s fair to wonder whether his market will develop with so much power still available in free agency. It’s also reasonable to expect that the South Siders are willing to listen on Jose Quintana, though there’s no real pressure to move his lengthy and affordable contract. It does stand to reason, though, that shorter-term assets (including Todd Frazier, Melky Cabrera, and David Robertson) will be shopped more heavily.
  • Before pulling the trigger on Eaton, the Nationals at least checked in with the Rockies on center fielder Charlie Blackmon, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). While that obviously won’t be a match at this point, and the Cardinals no longer appear to be a possible suitor after signing Dexter Fowler, it remains to be seen whether Colorado will look hard at a deal involving one of its best players. The team made a notable free-agent splash by adding Ian Desmond, with reports suggesting that he’ll spend time at first base, but it still seems to make sense for the organization to consider addressing other needs — most notably, in the pitching staff — by exploring deals for Blackmon or one of its other left-handed-hitting outfielders. (Last we heard, a trade remains a real possibility; while the team is said to be holding some extension talks with Carlos Gonzalez, those reportedly haven’t progressed, so he too remains a plausible candidate.)
  • For the Rays, there are still a lot of interesting opportunities remaining even after the team took an interesting gamble on injured catcher Wilson Ramos, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. The team’s still-loaded rotation remains an area to watch.  “It’s hard to anticipate timing, it’s hard to really know where all this is going to end up,” said senior VP Chaim Bloom, “but we obviously have a number of talented pitchers in our rotation, and I think we had a lot of conversation on pretty much all of them.” Whatever a trade of a starter might yield remains unknown, but Topkin says that Tampa Bay is looking to add some pop at some point. That could involve waiting to see what “leftovers” remain with plenty of sluggers still available; Topkin even mentions, at least hypothetically, the possibility of a move on a player such as Jose Bautista. Ultimately, said Bloom, there’s a better sense internally as to where things could be headed. “There’s still a lot of dominoes to fall, potentially, with us and certainly around the industry, but the conversation this week was really helpful,” he said. “We got, I think, a much better idea of what may be available to us.”
  • The Mets are still working to tweak their roster after Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker decided to return, as Marc Carig of Newsday reports. It seems that the focus remains on finding a taker for outfielder Jay Bruce to clean up the team’s rotation and shed some salary, but Carig suggests that progress has been slower than hoped on that front and GM Sandy Alderson notes that many free-agent outfielders remain unaccounted for. The Mets “laid some groundwork” at the meetings, says Alderson, though it seems that the organization will take its time in making further moves. Carig further reports on possible trade assets that could conceivably be used to find relief pitching. That includes outfielder Brandon Nimmo as well as catchers Kevin Plawecki and Tomas Nido, all of whom were discussed to some extent in recent days.
  • The Winter Meetings weren’t quite as busy for the Phillies, but as Ryan Lawrence of the Philly Voice notes, there’s still plenty time for some moves. GM Matt Klentak noted both that the flurry of moves creates “a ripple effect” and also that there’s plenty of information gathering which can “help you make decisions down the road.” In Philadelphia’s case, there’s “not a lot cooking” at the moment, per Klentak, but with “a lot of dialogue on a lot of different fronts” there’s always the potential for something to come together. Klentak notes that he expects at least one or two of the team’s 40-man spots to turn over between now and the start of Spring Training.
  • Meanwhile, the Giants may largely be done with their winter work, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweets. That being said, San Francisco is interested in adding some pop to its bench mix. The club has inquired on free-agent slugger Mark Reynolds and other “similar players,” per the report.
  • The Cubs took care of their bullpen during the Winter Meetings, but are still eyeing free-agent starter Tyson Ross, according to Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com. At this point, it’s not even clear precisely when Ross will sign, but it’s interesting to note that the defending World Series champs seem to have more than a passing interest in the veteran righty, who is working back from thoracic outlet surgery. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein spoke generally of the idea of signing injured starters, noting that there’s demand for “really talented pitchers” even if they have recently been hurt. “We’ll stay engaged on some of those guys,” he said, “but they’ll have to be just the right talent.”
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Matt Klentak Discusses Dartmouth College: MLBTR College Series

By Chuck Wasserstrom | April 20, 2016 at 10:48am CDT

MLBTR continues a series of interviews with top baseball executives about their college years. We’ll ask about why those chose their school, memorable moments, their favorite professor, important connections made, college learnings they still use today, etc.

We’ve already spoken to Reds GM Dick Williams and Cubs GM Jed Hoyer. Next up in our question-and-answer series is Philadelphia Phillies Vice President and General Manager Matt Klentak – a graduate of Dartmouth College.

* * * * *

Matt, thanks for talking to MLBTR. You earned an economics degree from Dartmouth College in 2002. Why did you choose Dartmouth?

“There were a few things about Dartmouth that jumped out right away. No. 1, just walking around campus – it’s one of the most beautiful campuses in the country. On top of that, it obviously had a very strong academic reputation. And Coach (Bob) Whalen did an excellent job recruiting me and selling me on their baseball program. So it was really a combination of the three factors – the campus and the community environment, the academics, and the baseball program.”

What other schools were you considering?

“I looked at a few different schools. I initially looked at some schools down south with top baseball programs, but I ultimately realized I wasn’t going to play much there. I might have been able to go there and make the team, but I wasn’t going to see a lot of action on the field. Once I realized that, I started to shift my focus to programs in the northeast where I might be able to play more regularly. I looked at a variety of the schools in the northeast, but ultimately settled on Dartmouth.”

Apr 15, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies general manager Matt Klentak before a game against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Being in an Ivy League school, academics definitely took precedence over athletics. What was it like playing in that type of an environment – where it was school first?

“My dad always talked to me about the fact that baseball wasn’t – by itself – going to open up doors for me. It was going to be a combination of baseball and academics. He said it to encourage me to take school seriously back in junior high and high school. It turned out that he was right. Ultimately, my success at Dartmouth was a combination of baseball and academics. Managing the Dartmouth workload and playing Division I baseball – that was a challenge. It really forced the student-athletes to be disciplined and to prioritize their time management. The academic demands required a great deal of studying and homework. And the baseball program had its own demands. But I think that the student-athletes learned about the importance of time management.”

Thinking back to your freshman campaign, what do you remember about your first year on campus?

“It was exciting. It was the first time I was living away from home, and everything was new. Meeting lots of new people. Learning about what it takes to play baseball at the Division I level. Learning how to manage academics and baseball at the same time. Everything was new. Everything was exciting. And there were challenges you were facing for the first time in your life that you never experienced living at home. Ultimately, it can be very satisfying when you find you achieved some success.”

You earned your degree in economics, and that has suited you well in baseball. If you had to choose all over again, would that have been your major – or would you have gone another route?

“I think I would have chosen economics. I think any major is going to teach a student to think critically and to improve their writing skills. There were a lot of majors that would have interested me. I think economics was the right balance for me of objective thinking and mathematics. It was the right balance for my interests and my skill set.”

What important connections did you make at Dartmouth that helped you as moved forward into a baseball career?

“First and foremost, I’m still to this day very close to my college coach, Bob Whalen – and I stay in touch with him. Whenever I can, I get out to see the Dartmouth baseball team play. While I was there, I was teammates with Bryn Alderson – who works for the Mets. His father is Sandy Alderson. I had a chance to get to know the Alderson family, and they have been helpful to me in my baseball career. I met Jim Beattie while I was there; at the time, he was a general manager. As importantly as anything, I became friends – and in many cases, best friends – with my teammates, who I’m still in touch with to this day. A number of them work in the baseball industry.”

Any players on opposing teams that you came across that went on to become important connections for you?

“There’s a nice group of baseball executives that played in the Ivy League at the same time. I’m not trying to just name GMs, but there’s (Colorado GM) Jeff Bridich, who played at Harvard. (Cleveland GM) Mike Chernoff played at Princeton. (Oakland GM) David Forst was at Harvard. (Boston GM) Mike Hazen was at Princeton. (Oakland assistant GM) Dan Kantrovitz was at Brown. And (MLB senior VP) Peter Woodfork was at Harvard as well. That’s a pretty good group.”

***Read more after the break …

Read more

Were there lessons you learned in college that you still utilize today?

“Learning how to think critically … learning how to problem solve … time management skills … and learning how to write. That’s a skill that I developed both in college and in my job with the Commissioner’s Office right after that.”

What were your most memorable experiences that you can share?

“Both my sophomore and junior year, we won the Red Rolfe Division. The 2000 team – that was the first time that Dartmouth had won the division, and that was pretty exciting. And then to follow that up in 2001, we forced a one-game playoff against Brown – and then beat Brown to advance to the championship series. Those were two pretty exciting years for us.”

You spent three seasons as Dartmouth’s starting shortstop.  Were you always a shortstop or did you also play other positions?

“Back when I was in high school, I had to decide whether I wanted to be a pitcher or focus more on playing every day. Ultimately, I decided to focus on playing shortstop so I could be on the field more frequently. It was a good decision. I was never the most talented player on the field, but I enjoyed getting out there and doing whatever I could to help the team win on a daily basis.”

Do you ever miss being on the field?

“I miss it all the time. If I could still play, I would absolutely still be playing.”

Final question. What advice do you give to high school and college students who want to work in a Major League front office some day?

“Really focus on the college experience. There’s a lot that can be learned outside of the classroom and off the baseball field. All those things that you learn in college can really help you on a baseball field and in life. I typically encourage people to enjoy and make the most of their college experience. They can focus on the next phase of their career once their college experience is over.”

* * * * *

Chuck Wasserstrom spent 25 years in the Chicago Cubs’ front office – 16 in Media Relations and nine in Baseball Operations. Now a freelance writer, his behind-the-scenes stories of his time in a big league front office can be found on www.chuckblogerstrom.com.

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NL Notes: Cole, Braves, Altherr, Klentak

By | March 5, 2016 at 10:35pm CDT

Last weekend, it was discovered that Pirates ace Gerrit Cole was displeased to have his contract renewed for the same pay as he earned last season. While Cole may be peeved by the lack of raise, it doesn’t mean he and the club don’t have common ground for an extension, writes Travis Sawchik of Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Former Phillies ace Cole Hamels made similar public comments back in 2008 before inking a three-year, $20MM deal for his arbitration seasons. Sawchik also relates a number of details about Cole’s specific situation as well as the players’ share of revenue league wide – it’s well worth a read.

  • The Braves rotation is a shadow of the unit that dominated the National League for over a decade, writes the associated press for the New York Times. The entire unit has issues. “Ace” Julio Teheran is coming off his worst major league season, and he’s the only lock for a job. As manager Fredi Gonzalez joked, there’s a wave of high profile arms, but they’re “out by the Marshall Islands.” Pitching prospects are notoriously fickle. Before the high ceiling talents get a chance to work in the majors, Atlanta fans will have to hope players like Matt Wisler, Mike Foltynewicz, and Bud Norris can show some sign of life.
  • Phillies outfielder Aaron Altherr suffered a left-wrist injury on a diving play yesterday, writes Matt Breen of Philly.com. Altherr had the wrist in a splint today and has not received X-Rays yet. The former prospect is familiar with wrist injuries which sapped his development in late 2013 and early 2014. He doesn’t believe this round is anywhere as serious as his previous injury which required surgery. Altherr is widely expected to start for the Phillies after a breakout 2015 season. In my view, the club could option him if they preferred for him to ease into action in the minors.
  • For those curious about Phillies GM Matt Klentak’s playing background, Mike Sielski of Philly.com has the details. Klentak, 35, attended Dartmouth College where he played shortstop for head coach Bob Whalen – himself a friend of now-Mets GM Sandy Alderson. From there, it’s not a far jump to Moneyball. Klentak also offered a couple interesting quotes, including “Players will reach their ceilings when they’re playing confidently, when they’re in an environment that’s loose and that allows them to be the player that they want to be.“
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