Phillies: Ruben Amaro Jr. drawing general manager interest

Former Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. could soon be returning to the front office

Ruben Amaro Jr. has not been a general manager in five seasons, having previously served in the role with the Philadelphia Phillies from 2009 to 2015.

Afterward, Amaro Jr. went on to join the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets as first base coach, before later becoming special assistant to Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen. He returned to the Phillies family in 2020 as part of the broadcast team.

Now, Amaro Jr. just might find his way back to the front office for the 2021 season. According to The Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher, Amaro has interviewed for the Los Angeles Angels general manager position left vacant following last month’s firing of Billy Eppler.

Amaro Jr. is the Angels’ 11th confirmed GM candidate; the organization, according to Fletcher, is “expected to fill the position in a few weeks.” The Phillies meanwhile, do not appear to be in any rush to fill their GM vacancy, replacing Matt Klentak.

Other confirmed Angels GM candidates include former Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill; Chicago Cubs vice president of player personnel Jason McLeod; San Diego Padres senior advisor to the GM Logan White; as well as assistant GMs Matt Arnold (Milwaukee Brewers), Justin Hollander (Seattle Mariners), Billy Owens (Oakland A’s), Jared Porter (Arizona Diamondbacks), and Amiel Sawdaye (Arizona Diamondbacks). Former Marlins GM Dan Jennings and former San Francisco Giants GM Bobby Evans are also in the running, in addition to Amaro Jr.

Amaro Jr. and Hill are notably the only two current Angels GM candidates to have led an organization’s baseball operations department. There are some ties between Amaro Jr. and the Angels, too; the first being that he played for them as a player. Also, when Amaro Jr. was the Mets first base coach, current Angels pitching coach Mickey Callaway served as the Phillies’ National League East division rival’s manager.

Perhaps the stars are aligning for Amaro Jr. to return to a front office. He has made it known that he always wanted to become a Major League Baseball manager one day; this could be his next step toward reaching that goal.