Ruben Amaro Jr.

Rockies Make Contact With Ruben Amaro Jr.

By TC Zencka | May 3, 2021 at 9:29am CDT

The Rockies aren’t expected to hire a new general manager until next winter, but they have begun to sniff around potential candidates. Former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is the first name on the public list, per the Athletic’s Nick Groke (via Twitter). Said Amaro, “I would have some interest under the right circumstance. I think they’re figuring out who would be a real candidate and who wouldn’t.”Amaro Jr. is currently a color analyst on the Phillies’ broadcast team.

Amaro Jr. took over from Pat Gillick as the Phillies GM in November of 2008 just after the Phillies won the World Series. Amaro Jr. would lead the Phils to another pennan in 2009, but ultimately, a very talented Philadelphia team with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard would fail to win another title. They would, however, make the playoffs in each of Amaro’s first three seasons.

Amaro Jr. was particularly criticized for handing Howard a five-year, $125MM extension in 2010 that wouldn’t kick in for another two years at the time of the signing. By the time the extension started, Howard was 32 years old and coming off a devastating Achilles injury. Howard would hit .226/.292/.427 over the length of the deal. Amaro Jr., however, wouldn’t be around to see the end of it: he was let go in September of 2015.

As for his fit with the Rockies, Amaro’s perceived shortcomings somewhat mirror those of the previous Colorado regime. Amaro Jr. drew ire in Philadelphia for holding on too long to the World-Series-winning core and failing to get enough back for those players he did deal away, such as Lee. He also wasn’t afraid to spend big money on free agent relievers, though the $50MM Amaro Jr. used to sign Jonathan Papelbon was considerably more productive than any of the Rockies’ recent splurges.

Amaro Jr. didn’t exactly leave the Phillies empty-handed, however, as he was responsible for acquiring Aaron Nola and Zach Eflin, as well as players like Ken Giles, J.P. Crawford, Sixto Sanchez, and Jorge Alfaro. The latter group no longer plays in Philly, but they were the talent pool from which Amaro’s successors were able to replenish the team via trades for J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura, for example.

Of course, as the first name made public, there’s no indication that Amaro Jr. is anything more than one possible candidate in the first wave of potential applicants to become Jeff Bridich’s long-term replacement.

4 More Candidates Interview For Angels’ GM Job

By Mark Polishuk | November 1, 2020 at 10:53am CDT

After several weeks of little news about the Angels’ search for a new general manager, several names have emerged as candidate for the position. Four new names join that already lengthy list, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports that former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has spoken with the team, and longtime Royals executives Gene Watson, Scott Sharp, and J.J. Picollo were also part of the Halos’ first round of interviews, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter).

Amaro is the only one of this quartet who has previously run a front office, as his stint as the Phillies’ GM from 2009-15 was highlighted by the National League pennant in 2009 and three NL East titles. All of that success came in Amaro’s first three seasons, however, largely due to the core of talent built by Amaro’s predecessor Pat Gillick (though as assistant GM, Amaro also had a hand in that roster’s creation). 2011 was still the last time Philadelphia posted a winning record, as their 2008 championship core aged and Amaro wasn’t able to reinforce the team well enough to keep it in contention.

Since leaving the Phils, Amaro moved not to another front office job but rather coaching positions with the Red Sox and Mets. After the 2018 season, he worked as an advisor to Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen, and spent 2020 as a broadcaster for Phillies games. Amaro does have some memorable ties to the Angels, as he was drafted by the team back in 1987 and he spent the first of his eight MLB seasons in a Halos uniform.

Watson, Sharp, and Picollo have all been linked to other general manager openings in the past. Watson interviewed with the Astros last winter, Sharp was a candidate with the Giants and Mets after the 2018 season, and Picollo has been considered for front office jobs with the Twins, Diamondbacks, and Phillies. In fact, Picollo was one of the favorites to replace Amaro as the Phillies’ GM back in 2015 before Matt Klentak was hired, and Picollo’s name has again surfaced as a possibility in Philadelphia now that Klentak is no longer in the position.

According to Rosenthal, Sharp could be the Angels’ preferred choice among the three Kansas City choices. Sharp, Picollo and Watson have all been with the Royals since 2006, working in various positions while moving up the ladder to their current positions as assistant GM (Sharp and Picollo) and senior director of pro scouting/special assistant (Watson).

NL Notes: Marlins, Raad, Mets, Regan, Amaro Jr.

By Dylan A. Chase | November 10, 2019 at 8:25pm CDT

The Marlins have hired Hadi Raad to be their new director of pro scouting, according to a tweet from Lindsey Adler of The Athletic (link). Raad is a five-year veteran of the Yankees front office, most recently serving as the club’s director of minor league operations.

Raad, a collegiate player with Wheaton College from 2008 to 2010, carries scouting experience in both the Yankees and Rangers organizations. That Raad has ties with the Yankees may come as no particular surprise, considering that the Marlins have on a few occasions attracted figures connected to the old club of Miami CEO Derek Jeter. Recently, the club was said to have offered former Yankee Hensley Meulens a coaching role on the staff of manager Don Mattingly.

More notes from around the NL, mostly of the front office and coaching variety…

After a report indicated that the club would interview Jeremy Hefner of the Twins on Monday as part of their search for a new pitching coach, could the Mets still be considering old friend Phil Regan for the job? The club hasn’t “officially ruled out” Regan, who took over as New York’s pitching coach following Dave Eiland’s dismissal in mid-summer, as noted in a tweet from Andy Martino of SNY (link). Although references to Regan’s age (82) are applied perhaps a bit too liberally in the press, Martino rightfully points out that the club’s reported candidates–including Hefner and Michigan pitching coach Chris Fetter–are clearly of a different profile than the veteran instructor Regan.
Another well-traveled baseball figure, Ruben Amaro Jr., apparently still feels a deep connection with the Phillies organization for which he once served as GM, according to a profile from Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer (link). After a two-year stint with the Mets in which he served in both coaching and front office capacities, Amaro Jr. is again a professional “free agent” this offseason–and one unabashed about stating his desire to work with his old club in Philly. “I’d be lying to you if I told you I didn’t want to work in the organization in some capacity again,” Amaro Jr. said of the Phillies. “I would love to come back. It’s home for me.” The veteran baseball man and Philadelphia native also indicated to Brookover that there are currently a number of vocational paths open to him (as one would expect of someone with his resumé), but it’s still worth noting that the 54-year-old would welcome a return to the team that relieved him of his GM duties late in the 2015 season.

NL Notes: Mets, Cano, Braves, McCann, D-backs

By Connor Byrne | August 31, 2019 at 1:40am CDT

Mets second baseman Robinson Cano will begin a rehab assignment at the Single-A level on Saturday, Tim Healey of Newsday reports. Cano suffered a torn left hamstring on Aug. 5, which looked like a potential season-ending injury at the time. But Cano has progressed far quicker than expected and now appears likely to return before the original six- to 12-week timeline. If so, he’ll attempt to close the year out in solid fashion after struggling for most of it. The eight-time All-Star has batted a career-worst .252/.295/.415 with 10 home runs in 346 plate appearances during his first season with the Mets.

More on New York and a pair of other NL franchises:

The Mets have given special assistant to the general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. permission to look for a job elsewhere, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. They are willing to keep Amaro, per Puma, though Andy Martino of SNY relays that he will indeed leave when his contract expires. The executive’s not in for an “immediate” exit, though, and his departure will be “amicable,” Martino writes. Amaro has been with the Mets for two seasons – he worked as their first base coach and outfield/baserunning coach a year ago – but he’s best known for his run as the Phillies’ GM from 2009-15.
The Braves will activate catcher Brian McCann from the IL on Sunday, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com. It’ll be a quick return for McCann, who went to the shelf Aug. 21 because of a left knee sprain. The 35-year-old has gone on the IL twice this season (he previously missed time with a hamstring issue), but the Braves icon has still managed respectable production in his return to Atlanta. McCann has hit .264/.336/.423 with 10 HRs across 274 trips to the plate, and has earned positive reviews as a defender from Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner.
The season-ending right shoulder surgery Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta had this week went according to plan, general manager Mike Hazen announced (via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). Hazen revealed it was a fairly minor “cleanup” procedure of Peralta’s AC joint, and it shouldn’t prevent him from participating in a normal spring training. Peralta’s shoulder troubles forced him to the IL three times this season and limited him to 99 games, in which he batted .275/.343/.461 and hit 12 homers in 423 PA.

NL East Notes: Asdrubal, Amaro, Marlins

By Steve Adams | May 14, 2018 at 8:52am CDT

Asdrubal Cabrera’s strong start for the Mets is building an interesting test case in free agency, writes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. The 32-year-old is the type of player who was immensely devalued last offseason — a longtime solid but not star-caliber regular on the wrong side of 30 — but is also in the midst of perhaps his best start to any season. Cabrera is batting .329/.376/.552, and I’d add that dating back to last September, he’s actually slashing .345/.398/.573 in 260 PAs. Cabrera has upped his line-drive rate quite a bit in 2018, but his fly-ball, ground-ball, strikeout and walk rates are all in line with his career marks. The uptick in liners and hard contact does prompt xwOBA to view his early work favorably, but it’s not clear he can maintain that pace. A .383 average on balls in play is a huge factor in Cabrera’s surge, and that doesn’t appear especially sustainable.

That said, Cabrera looks to have plenty left in the tank after a solid two-plus years with the Mets. Davidoff, though, points to peers like Neil Walker and Eduardo Nunez in suggesting that the market hasn’t been favorable to Cabrera’s skill set and wonders if he’ll be able to top the two-year, $18.25MM deal he initially landed from the Mets.

Coaching Notes: Amaro Jr., Astros, Pirates, Red Sox, Tigers

By Steve Adams | November 3, 2017 at 8:22am CDT

Ruben Amaro Jr. will leave the Red Sox’ coaching staff and join the Mets as their new first base coach and outfield/baserunning coach, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Amaro, long the general manager of the Phillies, has spent the past two seasons as the first base coach in Boston. While his path from the front office to a big league coaching staff is anything but conventional, but his experience in a front office will add a unique perspective to rookie manager Mickey Callaway’s staff. It was reported yesterday that the Mets were also promoting Pat Roesseler to hitting coach and hiring veteran pitching coach Dave Eiland.

A few more notes out of the dugout from around the league…

The Astros will hire Yankees third base coach Joe Espada as their new bench coach, reports ESPN’s Marly Rivera. Espada will step into the role that was vacated when Alex Cora left the Astros to become the new manager of the Red Sox. Like Cora, the 42-year-old Espada will bring a relatively youthful presence to the Houston coaching staff. He’s spent seven seasons as a third base coach at the big league level (2010-13 in Miami, 2015-17 in New York) and has also served as a professional scout in the Yankees organization for a year. He’s also served as a minor league hitting coach and infield coordinator in the Marlins organization.
After recently extending general manager Neal Huntington and manager Clint Hurdle, the Pirates announced yesterday that their entire coaching staff has been extended through the 2019 season. Hurdle’s current contract runs through the 2021 season. Renowned pitching coach Ray Searage is the most oft-discussed member of Hurdle’s staff, which also includes bench coach Tom Prince, first base coach Kimera Bartee, third base coach Joey Cora, bullpen coach Euclides Rojas, hitting coach Jeff Branson and Major League coach Dave Jauss.
The Red Sox will have a former big league manager on their staff to support rookie skipper Alex Cora, the team announced yesterday. Former Brewers manager Ron Roenicke, who spent the 2016-17 seasons as the Angels’ third base coach, will serve as Cora’s bench coach. Former Mets first base coach Tom Goodwin will join Boston’s staff as the first base coach and outfield instructor, effectively meaning the Mets and Red Sox have swapped first base/outfield coaches. The Sox also announced that Carlos Febles, who managed their Double-A affiliate in 2017, will join the club as its new third base coach and infield instructor. Bullpen coach Dana LeVangie, will return for his sixth season in that role. He’ll also serve as a catching instructor and assist in advance scouting.
The Tigers also announced their full staff under new manager Ron Gardenhire yesterday. Former Twins coach Steve Liddle will serve as Gardenhire’s bench coach, returning to the dugout for the first time since 2012 after an 11-year run in Minnesota. Third base coach Dave Clark and hitting coach Lloyd McClendon will return to the staff, and the Tigers are adding minor league hitting coach Phil Clark to the big league staff as an assistant hitting coach as well. Former big league infielder Ramon Santiago, who recently retired from his playing career, will jump right onto the Tigers’ staff as a first base coach. As had already been reported, the Tigers plucked Twins bench coach Joe Vavra to serve as a Quality Control coach and hired former Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson to serve as the bullpen coach. Both were with Gardenhire throughout his tenure as Twins skipper. The club also confirmed its hiring of recently dismissed Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio to occupy that same role in Detroit.

Kapler, Wathan Among Finalists For Phillies Manager

By Steve Adams | October 27, 2017 at 7:05am CDT

The Phillies have an opening in the dugout after surprisingly removing Pete Mackanin from that role and transitioning him to a front office role. Philadelphia had extended Mackanin just four months earlier, making the decision all the more unexpected. We’ll track the majority of the managerial chatter pertaining to the Phils here over the course of the search and update accordingly as the hunt progresses…

Finalists

If the Phillies opt for a manager with Major League experience, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets that the “industry expectation” is that John Farrell will get the job.
MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports that Dodgers director of player development Gabe Kapler is also a finalist for the position, along with Wathan. Both impressed the Phils with their first interviews, and it sounds as if the Philadelphia brass will conduct one more round of interviews with this pair (and any other yet-unknown finalists) before making a final decision.
The Phillies are “zeroing in” on Triple-A skipper Dusty Wathan for the job, per Nightengale (via Twitter). He’ll join Kapler, at the least, in a second wave of interviews. Wathan only briefly cracked the majors as a player, but has once again climbed the minor-league ladder since moving to the coaching ranks with the Phillies back in 2008.

Will Interview/Have Interviewed (Still Under Consideration)

Recently fired Red Sox manager John Farrell interviewed for the position on Oct. 25, reports Zolecki. It’s not yet clear whether Farrell’s sitdown with the Phils will result in another interview.
Dodgers director of player development Gabe Kapler is also slated for an interview, as Zolecki reports. Kapler took his position with Los Angeles after missing on the team’s managerial opening, but has continued to be cited as a possible candidate elsewhere ever since.
The Phillies already have one strong internal candidate in Jorge Velandia, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Currently a special assistant to GM Matt Klentak, Velandia interviewed for the opening on Wednesday and is a “strong candidate,” according to Salisbury, though other interviews are sure to be conducted with external candidates. Nonetheless, Salisbury writes that the 42-year-old Velandia is well versed in player development and has embraced the analytical side of the game. His work with Klentak and the rest of the front office should bode well for communication. He’s spent time on the Phillies’ big league coaching staff in the past and has also spent six seasons as a manager in the Venezuelan Winter League.
Current Phillies third base coach Juan Samuel has also interviewed for the opening, as Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Daily News recently reported. Samuel, 56, has been on the Phillies’ coaching staff since 2011 after coming over from the Orioles, where he worked with Andy MacPhail, who was then the Orioles’ president and now holds that same role with the Phillies. Samuel spoke to Brookover about his own openness to incorporating more data-driven decisions into on-field decisions. “If you have something available to you that gives you an advantage over other clubs, you should definitely use it,” he said.
Both Salisbury and Brookover list Triple-A manager Dusty Wathan as another internal candidate that is expected to interview. It’s not known yet whether the 44-year-old has interviewed, but he’s spent the past 10 seasons managing at various levels throughout the Phillies’ system, so he obviously has plenty of familiarity with the Phillies’ homegrown players and a number of the front office execs that have been with the club for an extended period of time.

Preliminary Candidates (Interview Status Unknown)

The Phillies have spoken with Mariners third base coach Manny Acta, Jon Heyman of FanRag writes (and clarifies on Twitter). Acta, who managed the Nationals from 2007-09 and the Indians from 2010-12, was in the running for the Mets’ job before it went to Mickey Callaway.
In addition to a few of the other names already covered here, Heyman hears that the Phils have some level of interested in Red Sox bench coach Gary DiSarcina and possibly former Tigers manager Brad Ausmus. Boston is in the midst of its own managerial hiring process, with the club leaving coaches like DiSarcina free to explore their options with other organizations.
The Phillies are interested in speaking to Rockies bench coach Mike Redmond, per Heyman. There’s been no definitive word of an interview, but the former Marlins manager has been building his dugout resume since calling it quits as a player back in 2010. At 46, he’d give the Phillies a considerably younger voice than they’ve had under recent skippers like Mackanin, Ryne Sandberg and Charlie Manuel.

Not in the Mix/No Longer in Consideration

Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice.com reported recently that the Phillies won’t consider bench coach Larry Bowa or former GM Ruben Amaro Jr. for the post. Klentak has stated a desire for a “new voice” and a “new style” in the dugout, Lawrence notes, which wouldn’t be accomplished with the 71-year-old Bowa. As for Amaro, while he’d been previously connected to the role and is reportedly on the Tigers’ radar, Lawrence definitively characterized the chances of Amaro being on the team’s radar as nonexistent.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Phil Nevin is no longer in the running after interviewing recently. FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that Athletics third base coach Chip Hale, who also interviewed for the Philadelphia vacancy, has been eliminated from the running as well.
Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway interviewed for the post but has since been hired as the new manager of the Mets.

The Tigers’ Managerial Search

By Steve Adams | October 19, 2017 at 12:00pm CDT

The Tigers were the first team to cut ties with their manager at season’s end, announcing with less than a week of the regular season to play that Brad Ausmus would not return as the team’s skipper. Ausmus was allowed to finish out the season at the helm — though Ian Kinsler was allowed to manage the team on the final day — but since the announcement, there have been plenty of names flying around in connection with the new job opening.

In an effort to consolidate the myriad reports on Detroit’s managerial vacancy into one place, we’ll track preliminary candidates, those that have interviewed and those that are no longer in the running all in this post and update accordingly as the search progresses.

Will Interview/Have Interviewed

Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez has also interviewed for the Tigers’ opening, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman, who also notes that Detroit’s search is down from an initial list of 50 to 10 candidates. Heyman initially identified Rockies bench coach Mike Redmond as a candidate (as noted below), and he now confirms that Redmond has indeed interviewed for the post.
Ron Gardenhire is on the list of the Tigers’ upcoming interviews and is a “strong candidate,” according to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. Fenech notes that the Tigers will face some competition, namely from the Red Sox, however. There are those who feel that Avila will ultimately hire a younger manager to handle a younger team, per Fenech, though Fenech also adds that he polled a number of industry contacts that feel Gardenhire is capable of connecting with a young group regardless of age.
ESPN’s Marly Rivera reports that the Tigers will interview Astros bench coach Alex Cora as part of their first wave of external interviews (Twitter link). Cora is an in-demand managerial candidate, as he’s already been linked to the Mets and Red Sox. An interview doesn’t seem likely to take place while Cora’s Astros are still playing in the postseason, one wouldn’t think.
MLB.com’s Jason Beck has previously reported that the Tigers will interview Marlins bench coach Fredi Gonzalez and White Sox third base coach Joe McEwing. Gonzalez, of course, has recently served as the Marlins’ manager as well as the manager of the Braves. McEwing doesn’t have big league managerial experience, but he’s come up as a candidate in years past and has been connected to the Mets already as well.
Fenech reported early this month that the Tigers have already conducted interviews with a trio of in-house candidates: hitting coach Lloyd McClendon, first base coach Omar Vizquel and third base coach Dave Clark. McClendon has had multiple big league stints as a manager, with the Pirates (2001-05) and the Mariners (2014-15).

Preliminary Candidates (Interview Status Still Unknown)

The Tigers are interested in Red Sox first base coach Ruben Amaro Jr., according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman. Amaro is obviously best known as the former GM of the Phillies, but he’s interested in managing and now has two years of experience on a big league staff to go along with an understanding of the day-to-day operations of a front office. As Heyman notes, he’s an outside-the-box candidate, but the Tigers are known to be casting a wide net.
Heyman has also previously reported that the Tigers have interest in Rockies bench coach Mike Redmond. The longtime backup catcher for the Marlins and Twins, Redmond is also a former Marlins manager but has yet to get a second opportunity to manage at the big league level.
Jon Morosi of MLB.com has previously listed Angels bench coach Dino Ebel and Royals catching instructor Pedro Grifol as managerial possibilities in Detroit. Heyman, meanwhile has previously linked them to Rays third base coach Charlie Montoyo.

NL East Notes: Strasburg, Phils, Mets

By Jeff Todd | October 11, 2017 at 1:21pm CDT

The Nationals have reversed course on yesterday’s announcement that Tanner Roark would take the ball for this afternoon’s win-or-go-home NLDS Game 4. Instead, star righty Stephen Strasburg will make the start against the Cubs after indications were that he’d be unavailable due to illness. President of baseball operations Mike Rizzo says that Strasburg offered to pitch last night, but at the time seemed too ill to go. (Via MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, on Twitter.) After a more aggressive treatment, though, Strasburg reported feeling better this morning and asked for the nod.

Much of the story here lies in the backdrop of yesterday’s rainy-day drama and the longer-running narratives surrounding Strasburg, which Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post broke down perfectly this morning before the change of direction. Needless to say, the stakes are now raised in an already momentous game for the Nats, who are trying to avoid a fourth-straight NLDS exit.

Cafardo On Hellickson, Amaro, Quintana, Middlebrooks

By charliewilmoth | May 13, 2017 at 4:25pm CDT

Here are a few highlights from the latest column by Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:

The Phillies are willing to listen to trade offers for righty Jeremy Hellickson. That’s hardly a surprise, since Hellickson is a short-term asset pitching for a 13-19 team that’s trying to rebuild, but it was also recently reported that the Phillies could also consider extending Hellickson, who accepted their qualifying offer last winter. Hellickson has posted a 3.49 ERA, 4.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 38 2/3 innings thus far in his second season in Philadelphia.
Speaking of the Phillies, former GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has won praise from current team execs for his series of trades before being dismissed following the 2015 season. Those trades include an impressive haul for Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman that included Jerad Eickhoff, Jake Thompson, Jorge Alfaro, and Nick Williams; the trade of Jonathan Papelbon to the Nationals, which brought back Nick Pivetta, a starter who made his big-league debut this year; the trade of Jimmy Rollins to the Dodgers, which brought back Zach Eflin, who’s pitched well for the Phillies this season; and the deal of Marlon Byrd to the Reds, which returned Ben Lively, who’s emerging as a good depth rotation option. Amaro is currently the Red Sox’ first base coach.
Former White Sox teammate Chris Sale thinks oft-rumored trade target Jose Quintana should be able to thrive anywhere, Cafardo writes. “He’s not a guy who lets outside factors bother him,” says Sale. “I think his middle name was ‘No-Decision,’ and how he handled himself through those times where he went out there seven innings, gave up two runs, and had nothing to show for it, never altered his attitude or his work ethic. And seeing that was impressive.”
Rangers third baseman Will Middlebrooks hopes to return in mid- to late June after breaking his hand in April. It’s been awhile since the 28-year-old Middlebrooks made much of an impact in the Majors, but after signing a minor-league deal with the Rangers last winter, he was off to a hot start at Triple-A Round Rock, batting .313/.377/.625 in his first 53 plate appearances there.

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