It didn’t take long for new Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski to find his general manager. As reported by Jim Salisbury, Sam Fuld will be promoted into that position.
According to sources, Phillies will name Sam Fuld general manager. Former big leaguer has been in front office for several years with Phillies.
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS) December 22, 2020
Fuld, a former nine-year major league player, has served as the Phillies’ major league player information coordinator since 2017. According to the team, that nebulous title required him to “integrate the use of information in all areas of on-field performance and preparation and make recommendations regarding the most effective areas of future research and analysis.”
Fuld had a good reputation throughout baseball, as he had a strong understanding of analytics, but his former on-field experience allowed him to properly communicate with the players. It’s somewhat interesting that Fuld is taking a front office job since he was largely viewed as a potential managerial candidate. He interviewed for the vacant Blue Jays position after the 2018 season, and was being considered by several other teams last year as well.
While Dombrowski is likely to have final say on most personnel moves, the analytically-inclined Fuld could serve as a nice complement to Dombrowski’s more traditionally-leaning methodology. And perhaps the best news is that since he was already employed by the Phillies, he won’t have to uproot during a pandemic in order to take the position.