Phillies: 5 Andy MacPhail press conference takeaways

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Phillies President Andy MacPhail speaks to the media

Philadelphia Phillies President Andy MacPhail met with reporters for the first time since the conclusion of the shortened 2020 season; here are five important takeaways, the first involving noteworthy free agent J.T. Realmuto.

1. The Phillies are optimistic that they can re-sign J.T. Realmuto.

Although MacPhail would not put a percentage figure on their chances to bring back Realmuto, he said the organization has optimism they can do so.

MacPhail went on to cite two reasons as to why the Phillies can re-sign the two-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and one-time Gold Glove Award recipient. The first reason being that the Oklahoma native has enjoyed his two seasons spent so far playing in Philadelphia, and the second that the Phillies want to keep him.

Of course, free agency is not that easy. MacPhail continued that the Phillies have previously negotiated with Realmuto’s agents multiple times to try to ink a long-term deal, but “weren’t able to find anything approaching common ground.”

When asked about the Phillies having to trade Sixto Sanchez, who impressed across seven starts in his rookie season, the veteran front office executive said “there are no guarantees with young pitchers.” In a way, MacPhail is right; consider when the Phillies parted with the highly regarded Kyle Drabek as part of the trade for Roy Halladay in December 2009. Drabek’s career lasted just seven seasons; he went 8-15 with a 5.26 ERA in 43 games and 30 starts overall.

Here’s Andy MacPhail’s full answer on the J.T. Realmuto trade and his future with the team. pic.twitter.com/TsfkazWTRy
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) October 30, 2020

2. The Phillies issuing a qualifying offer to Didi Gregorius is not a guarantee.

While MacPhail was somewhat transparent on negotiations involving Realmuto, he did not reveal much regarding shortstop Didi Gregorius, who played all 60 games this past season — producing 10 doubles, 10 home runs, 40 RBI, and a .284/.339/.488 slash line.

When asked of the possibility as to whether the Phillies would extend a one-year, $18.9 million qualifying offer to the nine-year veteran, MacPhail replied that he “can’t get into” those specifics.

The Phillies may be reluctant to issue a qualifying offer to Gregorius, because they might believe he will accept it, while they may think they could bring him back on a cheaper deal. If Gregorius rejects the offer and signs elsewhere, the Phillies would receive draft-pick compensation. It’s a difficult decision to make any offseason, especially now during the COVID-19 crisis.

Bryce Harper is introduced to the Philadelphia Phillies by General Manager Matt Klentak (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

3. COVID-19 will continue to negatively impact the Phillies and Major League Baseball.

The ongoing pandemic will not just affect the Philadelphia Phillies organization further in the coming weeks and months, but as well as the entirety of Major League Baseball. Phillies President Andy MacPhail told reporters Friday afternoon that he believes free agencies, including those of Realmuto and Gregorius, could drag on — similar to the 2018 offseason when Manny Machado and Bryce Harper did not sign until close to the start of spring training.

As far as minor-league baseball heading into 2021, there is much uncertainty for which teams will still exist. “We don’t know what the scope of the minor leagues is going to be,” MacPhail said, before hinting that the Phillies currently do not know whether there will be a team at the Double-A Reading level moving forward.

Of course, this is all related, in part, due to decreased revenues. The Phillies’ finances, according to MacPhail, are particualrly not ideal; he said he has never seen anything like the current landscape across his decades of experience in the league.

No one saw the pandemic coming, especially not the Phillies, who just before the pandemic were amid reinvesting money into the team, particularly through multi-million-dollar stadium renovations to Spectrum Field in Clearwater, Florida, and Citizens Bank Park.

The Phils recently cut, including former manager Pete Mackanin, who was serving as an advisor to the general manager. Unfortunately, more difficult cuts are likely on the horizon. MacPhail says “about 90 percent” of the decisions the franchise has to currently make are not player-related, but rather “internal.”

Commissioner of the MLB Rob Manfred and owner of the Philadelphia Phillies John S. Middleton (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images) /

4. Andy MacPhail will not return in 2022, and will perhaps depart even sooner.

MacPhail made things pretty clear that he does not plan to stay with the team once his contract expires following the 2021 season. In fact, he is even willing to step down sooner if it means helping the Phillies reel in a “big fish” as his replacement. This is notable, as two-time World Series champion Dave Dombrowski is reportedly interested in a leadership position in Philadelphia, only if he has complete autonomy.

MacPhail added that Phillies Managing Partner John Middleton “needs to be more hands-on, early on” in the hiring process for the new head of baseball operations. And, while the organization has started its search for a new leader and has identified candidates, MacPhail continued that he does not think it will be a quick process.

Coming off of his fifth year with the team, MacPhail said he did not expect the Phils to still be performing under the .500 mark; in 2020, they finished the year at 28-32. “That is a severe disappointment,” he said. “I do not know why we play [poorly near the end of seasons].”

MacPhail said that the Phillies should try to mirror the 2020 American League champion Tampa Bay Rays moving forward. “Tampa is unable to unlock hidden talent in players that have been around for a while that we haven’t been able to pick up on,’ MacPhail noted. “They’re seeing something we’re not and we’ve got to figure out what that is.”

#Phillies president Andy MacPhail says 7 players drafted during the 5 years with Matt Klentak/him have made it to the majors with the ninth-highest WAR among the 30 teams.
— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) October 30, 2020

5. The Phillies will likely stick with interim general manager Ned Rice

When Matt Klentak stepped down as general manager earlier this month, Ned Rice took over as interim general manager. MacPhail said Klentak knew that the Phillies not performing up to expectations in 2020, his fifth year on the job, made him “vulnerable.”

“They had a right to expect more this year. And Matt knew that,” MacPhail said. “Honestly, once [he] said it was time to win, he sort of teed himself up for an untenable situation based on how the team performed, particularly the last eight games.”

https://twitter.com/JeffSkversky/status/1322271250685808645

While they move on from Klentak, the Phils do not appear to be motivated to find his permanent replacement any time soon. The pandemic is playing a role in this thinking, as MacPhail said the search could take a long time. The Phillies have yet to conduct interviews for the vacancy but are continuing to identify candIdates.

Clearly, the current state of the Phillies is anything but certain. The same can be said with many other things right now during these unprecedented times.

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