Report: Phillies to target managers with previous experience

The Philadelphia Phillies have officially closed the door on the Gabe Kapler era. Thursday morning, it was announced that the second-year skipper was dismissed and there are already plenty of names floating around with regard to his replacement. According to Jon Morosi of MLB.com, the Phillies are expected to hire a new manager that has previous experience managing in Major League Baseball.

Over the past few days, Buck Showalter’s name has been mentioned on numerous occasions with rumblings of Joe Maddon and Mike Scioscia as well. Andy MacPhail and Matt Klentak have connections with Showalter from their time with the Orioles and with Scoiscia while with the Angels. Since the Phillies are a team still searching for an identity with a group of players that still haven’t spent too much time playing together, perhaps a manager with previous experience is the best route for the organization at this point. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Angels remain Joe Maddon’s first choice, but “money talks,” and he did note that the Phillies are closer to being a contender.

There were a number of reports during the 2019 season that pointed towards Gabe Kapler’s locker room atmosphere being more relaxed. The player accountability and discipline side of things was also in question at different points during 2019.

Although Middleton was heavily involved in the evaluation of Kapler, Klentak will be the one charged with finding the next Phillies skipper.

“With Matt leading our search for our next manager, I am confident that we will find the right person to lead us,” Middleton said in a statement.

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