Now that soon-to-be Philadelphia Phillies president Andy MacPhail said last night that the team's search for a new general manager is "in the early stages," it's likely rumors will begin to surface in regards to who might succeed Ruben Amaro.
The Phillies dismissed Amaro earlier this month and announced that his contract would not be renewed after 2015. Assistant GM Scott Proefrock has taken over the position on an interim basis, but Philadelphia will be exploring other options between now and the offseason.
"It is expected the Phillies will hire somebody outside the organization. One source told MLB.com in June that Angels assistant general manager Matt Klentak is an ideal candidate," writes Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. "MacPhail hired Klentak in March 2008, when MacPhail worked with the Orioles, making Klentak one of the youngest executives in baseball.
"Klentak seems to fit Phillies owner John Middleton's profile a young up-and-coming baseball executive."
MacPhail said the goal is to have a GM hired before the last week of October, which is when the annual organizational meetings will take place, according to Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News.
Earlier this month we took a look at some potential candidates the Phillies might consider, and Klentak was one of them. It was said MacPhail is looking for someone who has a balanced background in both analytics and scouting. It was noted Klentak could be the early favorite due to his past relationship with MacPhail. The 34-year-old, who has been with Los Angeles since 2011, reportedly interviewed for the Angels' GM vacancy in the past month or so.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports noted in his most recent Inside Baseball column that Klentak is "still connected to [the Phillies'] GM job."
However, rumors also indicate Royals' executive J.J. Piccolo, Rangers' assistant GM Thad Levine and Giants' scouting director John Barr are among the others linked to the job.
MacPhail took care of the team's manager situation yesterday and extended the contract of Pete Mackanin through 2016 (and added a club option for 2017). His next line of order will be hiring a GM, but it'll perhaps be a much more difficult process because there's already been a large turnover of such front office executives this season.
