LAS VEGAS — The image of a modern major league general manager is of a man attached to his iPhone, barking offers on a call and negotiating trades by emoji-laden text message. Front offices have become so dependent on technology to communicate that a common joke around the winter meetings is that they have become largely obsolete: Why do all these people need to be physically close when they’re all holed up in their hotel suites, talking to each other on the phone, anyway?
At least, that was the narrative until they all got here and tried to place their first calls.