Categories: News

A look at how the Phillies’ front office will work with new roles for Sam Fuld, Preston Mattingly

Dave Dombrowski announced promotions for Sam Fuld and Preston Mattingly. (Cheryl Pursell)

The Phillies and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced some major changes to the structure of the club’s front office on Friday with big-time promotions for executives Sam Fuld and Preston Mattingly.

Fuld, Philadelphia’s general manager under Dombrowski for the last four years, will transition into the team’s president of business operations upon completing his master’s degree at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business in May 2026. Mattingly has been named the Phillies’ new GM and vice president after previously serving as their director of player development and an assistant GM.

The two will temporarily share GM responsibilities as Fuld will retain his title for the time being.

Former minor-league hitting director Luke Murton has been promoted to farm director, and his former assistant Edwar Gonzalez has been named the director of hitting development.

“I think the Phillies organization, it’s a great day for us,” Dombrowski said Friday afternoon. “And I’m very proud to announce the promotions of each individual. To me, Sam and Preston are two of the best young people in the game. They’re outstanding in every respect. We have a good relationship between all of us. And, really, you kind of look towards the future and say, ‘Well, how will all of this work out?'”

That’s the key question following the team’s surprising announcement. The Phillies brass stated that it would be a process in Friday’s Zoom news conference that included Dombrowski, Fuld and Mattingly. For now, Fuld will stay involved in baseball operations, continuing to work with Dombrowski and Mattingly on roster decisions and transactions. But he’ll be juggling those tasks while taking classes at Penn and also gaining business-related responsibilities as well.

The idea of Fuld moving to the business side first came up in a conversation with owner John Middleton and Dombrowski in the spring. A former major-league outfielder, Fuld began working in the Phillies’ front office in late 2017 after his playing career ended, and he moved up to GM when Dombrowski was hired. He’s had some potential big-league managing opportunities in the past, but he remained in Philadelphia to stay in baseball operations as an executive. A switch to business wasn’t exactly something Fuld had been planning, but the chance intrigued him.

“Admittedly, it was not something that I had really given a ton of thought to at the time,” Fuld said, “but once I digested it all and wrapped my head around it, it felt like a really compelling opportunity, both professionally and personally, and felt like a great opportunity that I was eager to take on.”

With no prior business experience, the Phillies and Fuld agreed it would be best for him to hold off on taking over in his new role until he finishes his degree. However, the team will not hire an interim lead business executive in between the upcoming retirement of executive vice president David Buck in December and the start of Fuld’s tenure as president of business operations, leaving Middleton to handle some duties while other tasks are “distributed throughout” the department, per Fuld.

Mattingly, the son of former Yankees great Don Mattingly, has a history as a player in the minor leagues and in player development. He previously worked in scouting for the San Diego Padres before joining the Phillies organization. Mattingly has quickly risen up the ranks since taking over as the farm director in 2021, and his promotion brings him into the forefront of the decision-making under Dombrowski.

“I’m excited about it,” Mattingly said, “and I’d be lying if I … say, once you get going, you’re three, four years into your career and it becomes realistic, that I didn’t want to do it. So I’m just really excited and look forward to learning and growing as I get going.”

Dombrowski noted that Mattingly will have Fuld to use as a resource as he moves into Fuld’s role, a valuable aspect of this transition and collaborative effort. Still, some of the dynamic will be “fluid” — a word Fuld used to describe how things will progress on the business side and which also seems apt for the baseball side. Dombrowski called it a “continued process of evolvement.” As Fuld moves more into the business world, Mattingly will take on more of the GM duties on his own. But there isn’t an exact timeline.

It’s a unique situation, but the Phillies will now seemingly have both Fuld and Mattingly in the organization for the foreseeable future without either blocking the other’s path. And the club is confident its three current lead baseball executives can come together to make the transition smooth.

“Because of the working relationship by the three of us and the communication,” Dombrowski said, “it’ll come naturally to us.”