When new Phillies manager Gabe Kapler appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia's "Philly Sports Talk" program on Thursday afternoon, he was asked about his workout regime. In fact, he said, he worked out that very day. Kapler even added that he worked out with Sam Fuld that very morning. I speculated on Twitter yesterday that it could mean that Fuld would have a role in the Phillies organization. Friday afternoon we learned that in fact, Fuld sure wil be hired.
According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, Fuld will work with minor leaguers:
Phillies hire former big league outfielder Sam Fuld as major league player information coordinator.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) November 3, 2017
That was not the only move that Zolecki reported. Ben Warthan is also joining the Phillies:
Ben Werthan has been hired as Phillies minor league player information coordinator.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) November 3, 2017
There is a common link to Kapler and both executives.
Fuld and Warthan were both members of the 2017 Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic that went on a very suprising and competitive run Fuld was the center fielder and leadoff hitter for Team Israel, despite having been out of major league baseball since 2015. Werthan was tasked with preparing Team Israel for their opponent during each round in the tournament.
Werthan comes to the Phillies from the Baltimore Orioles organization. For Baltimore, they are losing their advanced scouting coordinator. Some reports such as Camden Depot say that Werthan's talents were not being utilized well by manager Buck Showalter. That should be to the Phillies' advantage.
Fuld technically was not retired, though he had not played in professional baseball since he batted .197 for the Oakland Athletics in 2015. Fuld had shoulder surgery prior to the 2016 season and got some interest from major league teams prior to 2017. However, Fuld will now officially retire and join the Phillies.
