Ruben Amaro Jr. out as Phillies general manager
Ruben Amaro Jr., the long-embattled general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies had to know this day was coming. We wouldn’t be surprised if he started packing his office once the calendar hit September.
Amaro is out as the Phillies’ GM and senior vice president, the club announced Thursday. It’s a not-at-all shocking move, considering the mess the overpaid and under-producing Phillies have been in recent years. And for some Phillies fans, this should have happened a couple years ago.
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The firing of Amaro comes the morning after the Phillies were mathematically eliminated from the postseason with their 86th loss of the year. That’s just a formality, though, since the Phillies haven’t been at .500 since April 12 when they were 3-3. Amaro inherited a World Series caliber team when he took over in 2009 and he’s spent the years since watching it deteriorate. They lost 89 games each of the past two seasons and were 81-81 in 2012.
Here’s the team’s official statement:
Amaro’s job as been in jeopardy for a couple years now, but the writing on the wall for his dismissal happened when the team announced Andy MacPhail as its incoming president for 2016. MacPhail said the front office would get more sabermetically inclined. Amaro has been dragging his heels on that for years, so the philosophy change was all but an invitation for Amaro to hit the road.
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MacPhail now adds finding a new GM to his to-do list. He’ll be competing with the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels and Milwaukee Brewers, all of whom have open GM positions.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
