When the Phillies added new general manager Matt Klentak, the goal was to get a young mind versed in analytics to bring the Phillies into a new age. Klentak formally took the reigns and got right to work. One thing that Klentak had to do was to learn about the Phillies new computer system that is designed to help the team think analytically. It has a name: "Phil".
Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on the new device that Klentak is using:
General manager Matt Klentak said he is currently working with a beta version of the custom-made sabermetrics system. Klentak said the system – aptly named PHIL – is a place for the team to store and manipulate data, including scouting reports, medical information, basic statistics, and “refined, nuances statistical information.” The PHIL acronym stands for “Phillies Holistic Information Location.”
“Basically it’s a place to house all of our information and synthesize it and try to manage it and pool it and bring all together,” Klentak said. “That’s what PHIL will provide. I’m new to it. I was not involved in the design of it, but I’m getting more and more familiar with it. We’re making some tweaks to it to make sure it suits what we’re looking to do and what we’re hoping to achieve. It’s close to its official launch.”
As Breen notes, ESPN rated the Phillies dead last in that department last year.
One thing the new computer will not do for Klentak is to drive free agent signings anytime soon. The goal heading into 2015 is to let the young talent develop and try to add to it. Over on Phillies.com, Todd Zolecki has an interview with Klentak in which he talks about the offseason plans.
The goal is to add depth, but not in terms of free agency:
"We really want to raise the floor and add some depth," Klentak said. "Kind of at every turn, that's what we're going to be focused on. And in the pitching department, I think we really need to work on just — again, I say raise the floor — but kind of establish sort of a firm foundation of pitching. That's not going to end when we break camp at the end of Spring Training. That's something we're going to be committed to for a long time."
The addition of Dan Otero started that push toward new pitching. The Phillies will not be players on free agents such as David Price, Zack Greinke, or Jordan Zimmermann this season. The young players will continue to develop instead. Though some of the Phillies young players have shown promise, there is more time to see if there might be more:
"There is some talent that we think is viable talent, but it needs to come percolate and demonstrate that it's real," MacPhail said of the young players in the organization. "And after that period, you might go forward. But do you really want to commit after you've just been in that pool and suffered from it? Do you really want to commit at this stage?"
Would Klentak trade a young player such as Ken Giles if it brings back a nice return of younger players? He wouldn't say no:
"I try not to operate in absolutes if at all possible, because you never know," Klentak said.
That is a good approach. Oakland Athletics executive Billy Beane has long traded players whose value is highest, even if they are still young.
Read Zolecki's full piece here.
