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.
The Twins franchise has won the World Series three times, not two. The Twins “franchise” was known as the (original) Washington Sentors for 60 years. The Senators won the World Series in 1924.
I understand people don’t tend to think of a team as being the same “franchise” after it moves. But it is untrue that the Twins franchise has only won 2 World Series titles.
Some Philadelphia radio hosts are currently arguing about who he would replace. If I had to guess, it would be Gillick, and then he would bring in his own GM to assist him.
Either way, its hard not to be excited about change in Philadelphia, especially with a guy of this caliber possibly taking over.
Can’t wait for the MacPhail/McFail jokes and how that makes him a perfect fit for Phillly…
MacPhail would be a great leader for the Phillies, excited for that to happen. They really should do it right away to help with the current deals they are trying to put together before the July trade deadline.
Doesn’t sound like a vote of confidence for Amaro
Could also be because Gillick said he doesn’t want to stay long-term
I cannot wait for this to happen – agree with Fryguy – should be done ASAP so Amaro is not the one making the rebuilding trades.