FanPost

Search for Amaro's Successor

In reply to a comment by TheBadgerine a few threads ago, I thought I would answer with a fanpost so that others could chime in and add candidates themselves in the comments. The question asked was, what outsiders should we as Phillies fans be hopeful the organization targets to take over as the team's new GM once Amaro is gone?

I personally had two names off the top of my head:

AJ Preller - Assistant GM, Texas Rangers. Preller was actually an intern with the Phillies out of Cornell over 10 years ago, however the reason I thought of him initially was that he was just in the news this offseason as he was a newly appointed assistant GM to Jon Daniels in Texas. Preller made his bones in the Rangers' player development department and current role as assistant is mainly tied to those same decisions, while another assistant Thad Levine helps more with the day to day operations that Daniels deals with. His resume and reputation are both highly regarded, and the Rangers ongoing success in domestic, international, and Rule V drafting is well documented.

Kim Ng - Sr. VP of Baseball Operations, MLB. Ng is the first and only woman to be considered a finalist for a GM position (Dodgers in 2005, Mariners in 2008, Padres in 2009). Ng has a heavier analyst background, as she broke into baseball as the youngest person to present and win an arbitration case. She has also been an assistant GM in New York and Los Angeles before moving over to MLB's offices. With the Dodgers, she also ran their player development department for a time - there is likely not a more well rounded candidate than Ng.

I think both are real possibilities. Kim Ng is obviously interested in becoming a GM, as her repeated interviews would suggest. It would be a score for the league as a whole, to introduce a female minority as the GM of a team, and David Montgomery is usually very interested in looking good in front of the league offices. Most importantly, she would be an immediate change to the current culture and has the education, experience, and results to her credit.

My personal choice would be Preller. Quick google searches will unearth plenty of stories singing his praises, and I don't believe Jon Daniels is going anywhere in Texas for the foreseeable future. He is thought of as one of the top scouting and development minds in the game. One look at both the Rangers recent success and their roster of international talent speaks volumes for his qualifications.

I encourage any other recommendations in the comments.