Phillies Expected to Name New Head of Baseball Operations

Andy MacPhail | Keith Allison (cropped). Phillies player | Jeff Fusco

Several sites have reported that the Phillies are expected to announce next week that Andy MacPhail has taken a job in the team’s front office. CBS Sports said MacPhail will “lead their operations.” CSN Philly first reported the Phillies had begun honing in on MacPhail earlier this month.

MacPhail is the kind of person the Phillies have generally liked for their front office positions: A baseball lifer. He won two World Series titles as general manager of the Minnesota Twins, then spent 12 years as CEO and president of the Chicago Cubs. After that, he was president of the Baltimore Orioles for four years. He is such a baseball lifer that he is literally the descendant of two Hall of Famers: former baseball executive Larry MacPhail (his grandfather) and American League President Lee MacPhail (his dad).

He’d replace interim president Pat Gillick — architect of the 2008 World Series championship team — who has been in the role since last year. David Montgomery took a leave of absence after cancer surgery in August; he returned to the team as chairman in January.

The July 31st trade deadline is now just over a month away, so MacPhail would be thrust directly into the Phillies’ rebuild. Out of contention for the foreseeable future, the Phillies have reportedly been shopping players like Cole Hamels and Jonathan Papelbon to teams in contention. They could also move players like Ben Revere and Aaron Harang.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr.‘s contract expires at the end of the season. Manager Ryne Sandberg‘s deal runs through 2016. MLB.com reports MacPhail could be looking to hire 34-year-old Angels assistant general manager Matt Klentak.

Follow @dhm on Twitter.