Despite coming off a 99-loss season, the Phillies were an attractive destination for a prospective general manager.
First pick in the draft.
First pick in the Rule 5 draft.
First waiver priority.
A budding farm system.
The largest international bonus pool to spend on amateur free agents.
And an ownership group committing to spending as much as any team in baseball ... when the time is right.
MLB
Matt Klentak recognized that pretty quickly in the interview process.
"Winning. That's what this is all about. ... That's why I'm here," the Phillies' new GM said in his introductory press conference Monday morning at Citizens Bank Park.
"I would not have left Mike Trout in his prime to come here if I didn't believe we could win, I promise you that."
Klentak, 35, is the 11th general manager in Phillies history and the youngest. He worked with first-year team president Andy MacPhail, who led this search process, as director of baseball operations for the Baltimore Orioles before spending the last four seasons as an assistant GM with the Los Angeles Angels.
Klentak is the type of balanced, forward-thinking candidate ownership partner John Middleton and the Phillies' front office sought. Klentak graduated with a degree in economics from Dartmouth and also started at shortstop for three years there. He has scouting and analytics experience with three different organizations — the Rockies, Orioles and Angels — and also spent four years with MLB's labor relations board. He has a unique understanding of the CBA, of the current baseball landscape, and of, as he put it, "industry-best practices."
Klentak and MacPhail have worked together before to complete transactions for a rebuilding club, but MacPhail did not hire him to be a yes-man. MacPhail wanted someone whose goals and expectations aligned with his but who isn't afraid to disagree.
MacPhail wanted someone who has an eye on the future and isn't afraid to make unpopular but necessary decisions.
"I've worked in Baltimore, which was more of a — at least for the period I was there — was more of a rebuilding time," said Klentak, who along with MacPhail left the Orioles in great shape to trend toward the top of the American League these last few seasons.
"And then the last four years with the Angels we have had a good team. We've had to learn to sustain that and kind of learn on the fly to keep ourselves competitive but also manage a payroll and make sure we were building it for the long term.
"Sometimes that came with making tough decisions, such as trading (second baseman) Howie Kendrick, who was an All-Star-caliber player in the prime of his career. Trading Mark Trumbo, who wasn't even yet arbitration-eligible, for two young pitchers. Those are tough organizational decisions, but you make them when you know what you're trying to build towards. I feel like a combination of all of my career stops fit very well with this organization, both what is needed today but also what we hope to grow into in the long term."
That Howie Kendrick trade was one of the more polarizing moves of the 2014 MLB offseason. Klentak and then-Angels GM Jerry DiPoto dealt one of the best players in the game at his position for an unproven left-handed pitcher in Andrew Heaney. It didn't go over well with Angels fans who were in win-now mode. But it made complete sense to trade an impending free agent for a young, potential frontline left-handed starter under club control for the next six years.
Those are the kinds of tough, but creative calls teams need to avoid bottoming out the way the Phillies have.
Klentak was asked numerous times when he expects the Phillies to again be a contending team. He refused to give an exact date or year, saying it's dependent on how the many young building blocks develop. Of course it is. How can you say 2018, for example, when you don't know if Maikel Franco can take the next step in 2016? How can you say 2019 without knowing whether that first overall pick will be a fast-tracker in the mold of Aaron Nola?
Klentak made clear that adding pitching is a top priority. That doesn't mean the Phillies will go out and spend in free agency this winter. He actually cautioned against spending immediately, saying that going crazy in free agency rarely leads to sustained success.
As Middleton said over the summer, when it's time to spend, the Phillies will spend. Klentak said he'll be ready to get aggressive as soon as he gets the first inkling the Phils are ready to contend. These days, that line isn't so clear. Nobody had the Mets in the 2015 Fall Classic. Nobody had the Royals making such a gigantic leap last season. The Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros? They made it to the postseason a year or two earlier than most expected.
"Look at what’s on display in the World Series right now," Klentak said, referring to the Mets and Royals. "Two clubs that have gone through very disciplined rebuilds, but two clubs that have had very different time frames for doing it. And I think it’s important to realize — and I’m not saying it just to say it — the players will dictate that."
Klentak also personally thanked previous GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and praised him for his role in reshaping the organization with the trades of Cole Hamels, Chase Utley, Jonathan Papelbon, Ben Revere, Jimmy Rollins and Marlon Byrd. Those moves added 13 prospects to a farm system that now can be described as intriguing.
"This town ... this team is committed to winning, and there is going to be no more supportive ownership group, that much I know," Klentak said.
"There's a really strong foundation of players in this organization, some of whom are in the big leagues and some of whom are coming. I think that, coupled with the first pick in the draft, the largest international bonus pool this year, the first priority in the waiver period, the first pick in the Rule 5 draft, et cetera, et cetera, creates some inherent advantages, at least in the short term, that are incredible. And I think if we do our jobs right, we will turn this into a winner and it's gonna be fun for a long time."