After a rollercoaster of a 2020 Phillies season, GM Matt Klentak recently stepped down; here are three candidates that could replace him.
The Philadelphia Phillies fell short of making it into the postseason this 2020 season, and as such, it was not surprising to hear the recent news of Matt Klentak stepping down as Phillies general manager.
Having been hired in 2015, Klentak came into an organization that had already been in a drought but has unfortunately since continued that drought — still unable to make it into the postseason nor even have a season above .500.
Although Klentak has been with the organization amidst the signing of the likes of Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Didi Gregorius, Jean Segura, Zach Wheeler, and Andrew McCutchen, the expectations that come with this kind of lineup have fallen short.
Klentak will remain within the organization, being assigned a different role, and assistant GM Ned Rice is now the interim GM until a replacement for Klentak is found.
It is worth noting that Phillies Director of Scouting Brian Barber and manager Joe Girardi both spent ample time in the New York Yankees organization. Not to mention, bench coach Rob Thomson. Could this mean that Phillies fans could see another person brought in that has ties to the Yankees organization?
Let’s take a look at some general manager candidates that could soon be brought in to replace Klentak.
First, let’s look at a very intriguing candidate that has spent years as an assistant GM and is currently the Senior VP of Baseball Operations in the Commissioner’s Office.