MLB GM Ratings: Andy MacPhail, president; Matt Klentak, VP and GM; -2.0 games
Only two front offices in all of MLB maneuvered their teams OUT of the expanded playoff in 2020, and Klentak’s Phillies operation was one of them. The collective -2.0 value of his decisions more than account for the one-game margin by which the Phillies finished out of the running.
This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. Over the past few seasons, Klentak has signed up free agent Bryce Harper, traded for All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto, and brought in ace pitchers Jake Arrieta and Zack Wheeler to team with Aaron Nola, who Klentak re-signed. That’s a lot of star power on the post-season bench.
If Klentak survives to next season – an issue still understood to be in question – it will probably be because of Wheeler. Signed to a five-year, $117 million deal in December, he went 4-2 with a 2.92 ERA in 11 starts. That netted a 2.3 WAA. But that also means that all other moves made by Klentak since the end of 2019 damaged the Phillies to the tune of -4.3 games.
In a 60-game season, that’s damning math. Klentak made 39 personnel moves affecting the 2020 roster. Of those moves, 23 – about 60 percent – produced negative value.
Here is the annual short-term performance rating of the Phillies front office since Klentak was appointed vice president and GM prior to the 2016 season:
- 2016: -8.1
- 2017: -2.7
- 2018: -4.9
- 2019: +3.4
- 2020: -2.0*
*This was a greater loss than the margin by which the Phillies failed to qualify for post-season play.