Philadelphia Phillies: What to Do About Pete Mackanin?

Philadelphia Phillies manager Pete Mackanin has successfully shepherded the club through the early stages of its rebuild. Should he get a chance to stick around when the team is ready to contend?

Around 500 years ago, Juan Ponce de León landed in a territory he christened “Florida.” You may remember the name from your high school history class. Undoubtedly, your teacher shared with you a stubborn historical myth about Ponce de León’s expedition; namely, that the conquistador was seeking the Fountain of Youth.

The story is an apocryphal little tale history teachers share with their classes because it makes for an easy multiple choice question (Full disclosure: I used to teach history). Also, it allows us to evade that messy little business about European colonization and exploitation of American lands and peoples.

Half a millennium later, there is still no Fountain of Youth to be found in Florida. However, one will discover multiple reservoirs of optimism. They can be located in the training facilities of the 15 baseball teams that gather in Florida every spring to prepare for the long slog of the major league baseball season. Here, amid verdant baseball fields surrounded by palm trees and the euphonious sounds of baseballs finding leather mitts and wooden bats, hope springs eternal.

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The Philadelphia Phillies are not immune from this hope-fueled confidence, but no one should reasonably believe the club is capable of contending for the playoffs in 2017. However, the fan base has every right to think that the worst of the rebuilding phase is behind the organization and that 2017 should serve as a bridge year on the long road to re-establishing the Fightin’ Phils as an elite team in the National League.

The man who has been entrusted with the task of steering the Philadelphia Phillies through the on-the-field rebuilding process is Pete Mackanin. The Phillies

skipper is embarking on his second full season with the club. By any reasonable measure, Mackanin has exceeded expectations thus far. Yet, the manager enters camp as the one person in a Phillies uniform who is arguably under the most pressure to perform during the 2017 campaign.

Mackanin’s contract status has placed him in a bit of a professional pickle. Before last season, he signed a two-year guaranteed contract with the team option for a third year. The option year is 2018, and general manager Matt Klentak has yet to signal his intention in terms of exercising it.

The Philadelphia Phillies should approach the Mackanin situation by decoupling the issue of picking up the option year with the question of whether to make a long-term commitment to the manager.

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The first part of the equation is muddled by a bit of baseball conventional wisdom as stubbornly persistent as the aforementioned Ponce de León myth. It goes something like this: lame duck managers have a difficult time asserting their authority in the clubhouse because players do not feel the need to listen to a coach who may not be returning next season. The logic behind this assertion is so absurd it could only have been birthed from the mind of an agent who represents baseball managers.

Most importantly, the theory seems a major slap in the face to the professionalism of baseball players. It also masks the fact that most players on a developing team like the Phillies are in the same expendable position. Moreover, protracted losing streaks and poor performance have a way of eroding any manager’s status, no matter his contract length.

However, managing a baseball team is a stressful, mentally exhausting job. If Mackanin’s mind would be at ease with the financial comfort of a fully-vested option for 2018, doesn’t it make sense for the Phillies to make what amounts to a minor commitment? After all, the organization is swimming in Comcast money from the lucrative deal it struck with the cable giant. There’s no need to cause disharmony over a couple million dollars, right?

Besides, the more important question on which Klentak must focus is this: Is Mackanin the right man to lead the team in its contending phase?

Klentak’s reticence to extend his manager’s contract suggests his eye remains firmly fixed on the future. The general manager has sent a clear message that 2017 will be an evaluation year for Mackanin. Among the questions that Klentak will look to answer about his skipper, the following seem the most pressing:

Are Mackanin and his staff able to cultivate the young talent on the pitching staff? Are they capable of getting Maikel Franco back on track? Can they continue the impressive development of Odubel Herrera and César Hernandez at the plate? Is Mackanin able to structure a lineup that can produce runs now that he has legitimate hitters at his disposal? Is he able to better manage a bullpen with more talent than the 2016 version, or will he overwork relievers like Jeanmar Gómez once again?

If Mackanin can demonstrate that he has the ability to manage a roster with more talent, he can expect to be back in the manager’s seat in 2018. If not, look for Klentak to move on from a coaching staff he largely inherited to one he constructs himself.

Next: Darin Ruf Has a New Home, But it's Not the Majors

In baseball, as in life, reality has a way of intruding on hope. The resulting clash of the two competing forces sometimes leads to crushed dreams and the realization of sobering truths. Pete Mackanin has already weathered the storm of a challenging rebuild. If he survives 2017, Mackanin just might definitively demonstrate that he is the man who can lead the Philadelphia Phillies back into regular contention for the World Series.

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