MLB: The century’s worst GMs
By Bill Felber
2016-2020 (10 through 6)
10. Dan Duquette, Baltimore Orioles, 2016-18, -13.4, 211-285: The disaster came in 2018. Beginning with a core that had gone 75-87, Duquette launched a teardown that in one winter stripped the Orioles of 14 games worth of talent.
To the argument that the teardown was needed, it is only necessary to note that Duquette had been GM since before the start of the 2011 season, so it was his own mistakes he was fixing. Orioles management finally got the message, releasing Duquette following the 2018 season.
9. Matt Klentak, Philadelphia Phillies, 2016-2020, -14.3, 326-382. Under Klentak, the Phillies signed Bryce Harper to a contract that will hamstring Phillies’ decision-making through the next decade.
But his problems do not all flow from that one extravagant decision. In five seasons running the Phillies, Klentak’s personnel moves never produced a positive impact on team success. Ownership finally agreed, terminating Klentak as of the end of the 2020 season.
8. A.J. Preller, San Diego Padres, 2016-20, -16.1, 312-396. Preller is one of two GMs on this list who – based on 2020 results alone –project to be off of it in the near future. Based on the team’s 37-23 record, the signs are good that the groundwork he has laid may be paying off.
For now, though, the facts are that Preller’s moves had hurt the Padres during each of his first four seasons.
7. Jerry DiPoto, Seattle Mariners, 2016-20, -19.2, 348-360. It’s hard to say which was a worse year for DiPoto, 2019 or 2020. His 2019 team utterly collapsed, finishing 68-94. In 2020, the Mariners actually made a run at contending in the expanded MLB post-season format.
They might have made it, if not for DiPoto. He traded for 14 players and signed eight others who combined to impact the Mariners by -3.6 games. The M’s finished three games out of a playoff position. That’s not good.
6. Dick Williams, Cincinnati Reds, 2016-20, -20.7, 309-399. Williams was promoted from general manager to head of baseball ops in 2018, so his precise rating depends on whether you credit/blame him or new GM Nick Krall for the 2019 and 2020 results.
But it does not make a big difference; even in their one playoff season, 2020, Williams’ Reds regressed. The total impact of his moves on the team in what was supposed to be an upwardly mobile 2020 season worked out to -4.6 games.