Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe was the first to report that the Phillies are expected to name Matt Klentak as their new general manager. MLB.com‘s Todd Zolecki confirmed the report.
Athletics assistant GM Dan Kantrovitz and Rays VP of baseball operations Chaim Bloom were reportedly the two other finalists for the position, per Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly. Kim Ng, who worked with president Andy MacPhail in the commissioner’s office, was not among the finalists.
And so the Phillies’ biggest hurdle of the off-season has been cleared. Having already removed the interim tag from Pete Mackanin‘s title as manager, added Rick Kranitz as pitching coach and John McLaren as the catching coach, installed Mac Phail as the successor to Pat Gillick, and now hired a GM, the Phillies can begin their off-season in earnest.