Phillies will not retain manager Pete Mackanin after 2017 season
The Phillies will not retain manager Pete Mackanin beyond this season, according to CSN Philly’s Marshall Harris. Could the Phillies go for a young manager or an established name?
The tenure of Pete Mackanin was destined to be an odd one. The most notable name after the Ryne Sandberg ousting, Mackanin had to somehow pull through a balancing act of providing a watchable team while the Phillies endure a massive rebuild.
An almost impossible task that Mackanin did not make easier for himself. He failed to meet fans’ standards when it came in-game management, and at times lost reign over certain players. The Odubel Herrera situation mid-season seemed to become a bigger problem on the surface than it actually was.
Beyond that, Mackanin’s 42.1% Win-Loss percentage is a sad representation of both mismanagement and little to work with. He will stay with the organization, according to CSN Philly’s Marshall Harris, as a “special assistant to the general manager”. A position that many former coaches see themselves enter.
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The Phillies will now show their card in terms of how they view this team moving forward. They could go with in-house favorite Dusty Wathan, who has coached the organization’s top prospects well in Lehigh Valley. It would make sense, as his management of the once-struggling J.P. Crawford can now be pointed to as the reason why he has succeeded in the Majors to start. Lehigh Valley was a playoff powerhouse this year.
They could go off the rails and hire Brad Ausmus, who had a less than stellar stretch in Detroit. My guess, the Phillies go young. This will align perfectly with the team’s timeline, as they look to peak in the next five years. There is a question of pulling in free agents for the 2018 season, however.
An established manager would do the team wonders in that sense. SportsTalkPhl editor Tim Kelly brought the name Ron Gardenhire up.
Ron Gardenhire is external name I've brought up. Would need to be more willing to embrace analytics. But interesting name.
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) September 29, 2017
Klentak landing a big name in a management role will have him applauded by upper management, but would bringing in someone not open to embracing the analytics culture create a rift? Point is, the Phillies will have to attack the top of the manager market now, if they want to attack the top of the free agent market in 2018.
The next question is whether Matt Stairs will remain in place. Stairs is not only a beloved Phillies figure, but has seen success in working with young hitters that he’s already established with.
Next: Nick Williams being overlooked
The Phillies are in the midst of an important change, and the effects of their decision could guide the direction of the franchise.