The Phillies made it official yesterday (what we felt they would do all along) by naming Ruben Amaro Jr. as their new GM.
Pat Gillick, who is retiring, will stay on as an adviser.
If this would have happened last year I'd be pretty angry with the move. And, if the Phillies didn't win a World Series, I'd be angrier.
The bottom line is they're a winner and Amaro was part of it. Mike Arbuckle resigned when he got passed over once again for the GM job and I won't miss him. Nope, not one bit. The reason why is Chuck Lamar will be spearheading the youth movement for the Phils. He was the former GM of the Tampa Bay Rays and made that deal to get Scott Kazmir and drafted such elite talents as Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, and James Shields.
The word around the grapevine is that Amaro is one of the better young baseball minds in the business and he learned from one of the greatest GMs in major league baseball history.
Before we bury Amaro, let's give him a chance to do his thing.
He will have his work cut out for him though because Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels will need to be extended to long-term deals in the next couple of years. Ryan Madson and Jayson Werth are arbitration-eligible. And, Shane Victorino will need a long-term deal. Pat Burrell will most likely not be back. And, the free agent list this offseason includes some players that the Phillies would find in their best interests to target: Sabathia, Sheets, Manny, etc. And, Jake Peavy is being dangled by the Padres.
Amaro is walking into a great situation though. Their main cogs are in the prime of their careers. And, there's going to be some talented prospects ready to contribute to the everyday roster next year (Golson, Happ, Marson).
I love the fact that Gillick is staying on as an adviser. Amaro will not only have him to count on for some input, but Dallas Green as well, who has been an adviser for years.
Free agency is now underway.
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