The Philadelphia Phillies announced Tuesday that Jorge Velandia has been promoted to assistant general manager. He’ll work under Sam Fuld, who was promoted to general manager Tuesday.
Velandia, 45, was a utility infielder that played in parts of eight major league seasons for the San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Toronto Blue Jays and the Cleveland franchise. Velandia did play in 10 games for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Phillies, in 2009.
For more than a decade, Velandia has been in the organization, most recently serving as a special assistant to the general manager. He actually interviewed for the Phillies managerial vacancy after the 2017 season, but Gabe Kapler was eventually picked for the role instead.
In addition to the promotions of Velandia and Fuld, Terry Ryan’s role within the organization will change. The former Minnesota Twins general manager has been in the Phillies organization since November of 2016. The 67-year-old is now a special assistant to the general manager after previously serving as a special assignment scout.
New president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski addressed what former general manager Matt Klentak’s role will be under him at his introductory press conference, though we don’t yet know how Andy MacPhail and Ned Rice will factor into the front office structure.