Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports that Joe Jordan, the Phillies’ director of player development, has left the team due to philosophical differences with the front office. According to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, some of that philosophical difference may have been over the promotion of Bryan Minniti to assistant GM of player development in December 2017. Minniti is, as Zolecki describes, part of GM Matt Klentak’s “inner circle” along with assistant GM Ned Rice.
The Phillies’ front office made wholesale changes after the firing of GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. in September 2015. Klentak, a young, analytically-oriented executive, was hired as GM a month later under president Andy MacPhail. With first-year manager Gabe Kapler, the Phillies make significant use of analytics, using stats to inform lineup construction, bullpen usage, implementation of shifts, and more.
Despite heavy reliance on stats, the Phillies’ success also has a lot to do with the minor league system which improved under Jordan’s watch. As Salisbury notes, many of the team’s current players developed under Jordan, including César Hernández, Rhys Hoskins, Aaron Nola, Maikel Franco, Roman Quinn, Scott Kingery, and Seranthony Domínguez.
Klentak said, “I have known Joe since 2008 when we first worked together in Baltimore. In that time, I have known him to be a hard worker, loyal colleague and good friend. I am grateful for his contributions to the Phillies and confident he will continue to do great things in the baseball industry in his next endeavor.”
