One of the downsides of the Phillies advancing deep in the postseason is the prospect of front office turnover.
Brain drain in sports happens when other teams hire away executives from successful teams. It’s a big reason why many executives around the league have some sort of connection to the Tampa Bay Rays or Houston Astros.
Phillies general manager Sam Fuld, as Chad Jennings of The Athletic writes, is one of the sport’s “rising executives.” He was connected to the Red Sox president of baseball operations job, but according to The Athletic, Fuld declined to interview for the job.
Fuld, 41, is a New Hampshire native who grew up a Red Sox fan. He was a finalist to become the Red Sox manager in 2020, but Boston re-hired Alex Cora following a season-long suspension for his role in the Astros sign-stealing scandal.
He is reportedly “content in his current role and with his family in Philadelphia.”
Fuld joined the Phillies coaching staff in November 2017 as a major league player information coordinator and outfield instructor. He was promoted to director of integrative baseball performance in January 2020 and became the team’s general manager in December 2020.
The former eight-year big leaguer is second-in-command under Dave Dombrowski in the Phillies baseball operations department. Becoming another club’s president of baseball operations would have been a promotion for Fuld, so the Phillies would not have been able to block any interview requests from other teams.
Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes, Minnesota Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey and former Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels also reportedly declined interviewing for the Red Sox president of baseball operations job.
Fuld is under contract with the Phillies until the 2025 season.
The Red Sox and Miami Marlins, following the sudden departure of general manager Kim Ng, are the only teams in need of a head of baseball operations.
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