Angels have reportedly interviewed Rubén Amaro Jr. for GM vacancy

The Los Angeles Angels are casting a wide net as they search for their next general manager, one that reportedly includes a familiar face.

Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register says that former Philadelphia Phillies general manager Rubén Amaro Jr. has received an interview for the position. It’s unclear how serious of a candidate Amaro is, as Fletcher acknowledges that the organization has now interviewed 11 candidates for the job.

Amaro, of course, was the Phillies general manager from November of 2008 until September of 2015. He did acquire Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee (twice), Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence, helping to guide the Phillies through the second half of the greatest five-year run in franchise history.

However, the organization failed to continue to develop talents internally and keep up with the growing influence of analytics, a hole that the Phillies are still trying to dig out of. (Clearly, though, those issues aren’t as simple as just blaming the former general manager.)

After being dismissed as general manager, Amaro made a transition to on-field instruction, serving as the Boston Red Sox first base coach in 2016 and 2017, before taking on the same position with the New York Mets in 2018. In 2019, he served as a special assistant to Mets’ general manager Brodie Van Wagenen before leaving the organization after the season.

Amaro has been open about a desire to eventually manage a team, though he’s never closed the door on returning as the head of a front office. If he gets this opportunity, it would be hard to imagine the Stanford graduate not taking it. Interestingly, Amaro was drafted by the then-California Angels in the 11th round of the 1987 MLB Draft, and played in 10 games for the team during the 1991 season.

Certainly, anyone that the Angels hire as the replacement for former general manager Billy Eppler will have their work cut out. Despite employing Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, the Angels went just 26-34 in 2020, finishing with the ninth-worst record in the sport. The Angels haven’t made the playoffs since 2014.

If Amaro were to land the position, he would be leaving a gig as a color commentator and studio analyst for NBC Sports Philadelphia‘s coverage of the Phillies, which he began during the 2020 season.

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