Despite one of the highest payrolls in baseball, the team was not winning. The core was aging and falling apart; only the attendance was falling as much as the core's production. The fans became angry with their general manager, and ultimately he was relieved of his duties.
No, that does not describe the Philadelphia Phillies, but the New York Mets.
Certainly there are plenty of parallels with the Phillies and the late 2000s New York Mets. While it seems like ages ago that the Mets were good, it might be easy to praise Mets general manager Sandy Alderson. But yet, the World Series team you see today was mostly made up on Omar Minaya acquisitions. Minaya was relieved of his duties after the 2010 season.
The names acquired, drafted, or signed by Minaya include:
- Matt Harvey, P
- Stephen Matz, P
- Jacob deGrom, P
- Jon Niese, P
- Jeurys Familia, P
- Ruben Tejada, SS
- Daniel Murphy, 2B
- Lucas Duda, 1B
- Wilmer Flores, IF
- Juan Lagares, CF
While pitcher Noah Syndergaard and catcher Travis d'Arnaud were not directly acquired by Minaya, it was Minaya who signed knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, flipped by current general manager Sandy Alderson for those two now key pieces to the roster. While Carlos Beltran was injured and barely productive, he was enough to net the Mets Zack Wheeler (who is currently injured).
What will the Phillies roster look like five seasons after Ruben Amaro, Jr. was dismissed as general manager? The Phillies could very well be stocked with a core that has Amaro's fingerprints all over it. The likelihood could be much greater than Minaya watching so many key contributors in the World Series since Amaro got to oversee a rebuild.
Alderson did not necessarily do much of that. Jose Reyes simply walked away and was not traded during the last year of his deal. The Santana contract was let to expire. Luis Castillo was cut. Really, the Beltran-for Wheeler deal was the only one with any real "rebuild" feel to it.
Amaro brought the Phillies plenty of prospects in his offseason and July deals. The Phillies could be sporting a top young rotation like the Mets are right now with names like Zach Eflin, Jake Thompson, Aaron Nola, Franklyn Kilome and Ben Lively. The infield could sport names like Maikel Franco, Jorge Alfaro, J.P. Crawford, and Andrew Knapp, with an outfield that includes Nick Williams and Cornelius Randolph.
Granted, many of those names might not work out. But if they do, it will be Amaro's roster, long after he departs. At some point in 2015, Minaya started to get noticed:
Sandy Alderson is cute with his quips, but it seems like the improvement the Mets have made are all on Omar's players.
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) July 1, 2015
Will Amaro get the same type of credit as his next batch of players come into their own?
The Andy MacPhail and Matt Klentak regime has begun, but the two have yet to make a single acquisition. The 2016 season will likely be about letting the players in the system continue to grow. The same players that were there when they arrived. When they come into our own, let us remember who brought them into the Phillies system.
