Philadelphia Phillies to name Matt Klentak as general manager
By Tim Haberin
The Philadelphia Phillies will name Matt Klentak as their new general manager, according to a report from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
Klentak had been serving as an assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Angels. He recently interviewed for the head GM position with the Halos, but former Yankees executive Billy Eppler was hired instead. Klentak had been identified as a finalist for the Phillies job along with the Rays’ Chaim Bloom and Dan Kantrovitz of the A’s.
A 2002 graduate of Dartmouth with a degree in economics, Klentak fits the profile of the somewhat younger, more analytics-minded candidate the Phils were supposedly seeking. He also has prior experience working with new Phillies president Andy MacPhail.
Klentak collaborated with MacPhail on the 2006 Collective Bargaining Agreement while working in Major League Baseball’s Labor Relations Department. Two years later he would join MacPhail in the Baltimore Orioles front office as director of baseball operations.
The Phillies’ current situation presents a tough challenge for the first-time GM. The Phillies finished the regular season with a 63-99 record, once again landing in the cellar of the NL East. Previous general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. was dismissed last month after an embattled tenure (although he, too, found a new home today, with the Red Sox as their first base coach).
Since then, the Phils’ new leadership has slowly taken shape. MacPhail, an experienced veteran of the baseball world, officially took over as team president. Manager Pete Mackanin was given a vote of confidence to continue leading the club in 2016. Phillies fans are hoping that these new sets of hands will deliver the team back into contention.
It will be a difficult task, but it sounds like Klentak should be able to hit the ground running. According to MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez, Klentak took on a lot of responsibility in the Angels front office after former GM Jerry Dipoto left earlier this year.
Klentak isn’t the only Angels assistant GM to find a new gig this week either. Yesterday, Scott Servais was named the new manager of the Seattle Mariners, where he will be reunited with Dipoto.
Next: Red Sox hire Amaro Jr. as first base coach
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