Ranking the NL East: General Managers
Jan 21, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; (left to right) Washington Nationals manager Matt Williams speaks as Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo and Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer listen during a press conference introducing Scherzer as a member of the Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
District on Deck is continuing our look across the National East, position by position, to see how each team measures up against the rest of the division to see who might have an advantage going into the 2015 season. We’ve recently covered the outfields and third base.
Today, we’ll be turning our attention away from the baseball diamond and redirecting it to the front offices for a look at the men who put the puzzle pieces together – the General Managers.
The NL East has a good mix of characters at the position. There’s Atlanta, where John Hart is serving in that role without the title while the team searches for a replacement for Frank Wren. New York is being run by Sandy Alderson, a sabermetrics pioneer who mentored Billy Beane in Oakland, where he won a World Series.
In Miami and Philadelphia, you have a couple of guys who have been with their teams for over a decade, which both include World Series titles that they won in an assistant role prior to being promoted to fulltime General Manager. In Washington, on the other hand, you have Mike Rizzo, who has been with the team since just after the team relocated from Montreal.
Looking at General Managers is a bit more challenging of a task than ranking players. There aren’t a lot of measurables that can be used to evaluate performance. All you have is a team’s success, and even that can be subjective.
Of course, that’s what makes this all the more fun! So, how do we rank the GMs in the NL East? Here’s our look at the top five:
Next: Number 5
Nov 19, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins vice president & general manager Dan Jennings (left) and president baseball Operations Michael Hill (right) right fielder Giancarlo Stanton (center) pose for a photograph after their press conference at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
5. Dan Jennings – Miami Marlins
Dan Jennings has been with the Marlins since 2002, when he was hired on as the VP of Player Personnel. He was promoted to Assistant GM in 2007, before moving up to General Manager at the end of the 2013 season.
This means, of course, that we have to give at least a little credit to Jennings for the Marlins’ World Series title in 2003. After all, he was a member of the staff for two seasons by the time they hoisted the trophy in October, so he deserves a pat on the back.
Anything more than that, on the other hand, would seem a little much.
Since Jennings was promoted to Assistant General Manager in 2007, the Marlins have floundered (pun intended). They’ve failed to reach the postseason since that magical run in 2003. They’ve also never managed to win more than 87 games, a feat they accomplished in 2009 when they finished 6 games back in the NL East.
The Marlins have really been a model of inconsistency. There’s frequently the signing of a splash free agent (a la Jose Reyes) that’s made for no reason other than to draw fans. Ozzie Guillen was hired in 2012 to manage the team only to last a single season. The team has drifted along without any real vision for the franchise’s future. It’s true all of this can’t be laid at Jennings’ feet, but it’s not exactly a blue ribbon, either.
One thing the Marlins and their GMs have managed to do, though, is put together one heck of an outfield. Sure, they may be light on young talent in their minor league systems, but with Stanton, Ozuna, and Yelich running around on that outfield, there’s at least one bright spot.
Next: Number 4
Apr 11, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves general manager Frank Wren and manager Fredi Gonzalez (33) present shortstop Andrelton Simmons (19) with his 2013 Gold and Platinum Glove awards before the game against the Washington Nationals at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
4. John Hart – Atlanta Braves
Technically, the Braves actually don’t have a GM at the moment. Frank Wren, the last person to hold the position, was fired near the end of September. John Hart, a good friend of team President John Schuerholz, was then quickly hired to be the interim GM before being promoted to President of Baseball Operations at the end of October.
For now, though, we’ll call Hart the GM, since he certainly appears to be the main man calling the shots for the Braves. He’s been the man mentioned whenever Atlanta has pulled off a trade this offseason, which has been far from an infrequent occurrence.
So far, Hart’s tenure as GM has consisted of a giant fire sale. He dumped Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, and Evan Gattis. Friday, they dealt two pitchers, David Hale and Gus Schlosser, to the Rockies. All signs point to Hart being in full-on rebuilding mode.
Unfortunately, since this is Hart’s first offseason with the Braves, there’s not a lot of results to judge him on with this team. Instead, we’ll have to look at what Hart did before he reached Atlanta.
Hart’s last appearance as a GM was incredibly unsuccessful. He served that role for the Texas Rangers and compiled a measly 311-337 record with no postseason appearances. They never made the playoffs, and finished last or next to last every year.
The bright side of the Texas experience actually occurred after his stint as GM ended. Hart served as an advisor to the team through 2013, which included two trips to the World Series
Prior to that, though, Hart also achieved very respectable results in Cleveland. His teams won six of seven AL Central titles, and even went on World Series appearances in 1995 and 1997.
Those Indians teams were nearly 20 years ago, though, and his only recent success happened in a non-GM role. Of course, we won’t really have an idea for how good Atlanta’s GM is until they actually hire one, and his plans start to take effect.
Next: Number 3
Aug 16, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr prior to playing the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
3. Philadelphia Phillies – Ruben Amaro, Jr.
Amaro has been with the Phillies ever since his playing days for them ended back in 1998. He served 10 seasons as an assistant GM before being promoted to the General Manager role in November of 2008. During that time, Amaro was part of a staff that helped put together a team that won one World Series, two National League pennants, and five NL East titles.
It’s an impressive resume, to be sure. Acquiring the type of talent that it takes to put together the sort of run that the Phillies went on from 2007 to 2011 is no easy task. The Phillies were also just a handful of games away from having two or three titles instead of just one.
The problem is how Amaro has apparently managed the team ever since he took over as the fulltime general manager. While he managed to ride the talented core of players he helped put together with Ed Wade and Patrick Gillick to a few more successful seasons, the team soon started falling into a rapid state of decline.
The Phillies have won just 81, 73, and 73 games over the past three seasons while dropping from third to fourth to dead last in the NL East. Amaro has failed to replace his aging core of star players, opting instead to allow the franchise’s chances fade with their skill sets. He just recently traded Jimmy Rollins, but Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are still hanging around.
There’s still time for the Phillies to return to prominence and competitiveness, but for now, it looks like they will hang around the NL East basement for a few more years. And if they do, it’s safe to say Amaro’s successes might not have been all his own.
Next: Number 2
Sep 26, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson on the field with mascot Mr. Met before a game against the Houston Astros at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
2. Sandy Alderson – New York Mets
Sandy Alderson replaced Omar Minaya as the Mets’ General Manager back in October of 2010. Since he’s taken over, the Mets have finished 4th, 4th, 3rd, and tied for 2nd in the NL East, though their number of games won has stayed consistently in the mid-seventies until 2014, when they landed four games under the .500 mark.
It appears that Alderson is taking the Mets in the right direction, and if you look at his history, that’s really not a big surprise. After all, Alderson’s first experience working as a GM came in Oakland, where he completely rebuilt the team from the mid-eighties through the late nineties. It was Alderson, in fact, who mentored Billy Beane, his eventual successor, on the use of sabermetrics.
From there, Alderson moved on to San Diego, where he helped the Padres win back-to-back division titles in 2005 and 2006, no small feat considering it’s the only success the team has experienced since 1998.
In all, Alderson’s teams have accumulated four division titles, three pennants, and a World Series. He’s been one of the key players at the forefront of the sabermetrics revolution. But what about his time with the Mets? He’s been in the Big Apple for four years now. What kind of results has he gotten?
As stated before, the Mets have consistently moved up in the standings, if not in their number of wins. They also have, based on Bleacher Report, one of the top tier farm systems in the majors. They’ve added pieces like Curtis Granderson and Michael Cuddyer to help out their younger players like Jacob DeGrom and Matt Harvey.
The question now is, do they have enough pieces in place to make a run at the playoffs soon? That will be the answer that really defines Alderson.
Next: Number 1
October 6, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo before game three of the 2014 NLDS baseball playoff game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
1. Washington Nationals – Mike Rizzo
Mike Rizzo has been with the Nationals in some capacity since 2006. He started as an assistant general manager and Vice President of Baseball Operations before replacing Jim Bowden as the fulltime GM in 2009, an interim move that was made permanent a year later.
The most noticeable thing, and the one point that must be highlighted to justify Mike Rizzo’s ranking at the top of the NL East, is what has become of the Nationals since he’s taken over. Since that year, the Nationals have gone from losing over 100 games and being last in the division to winning two NL East titles. Rizzo, more than anyone else, has managed to make the team from DC relevant nationwide.
Obviously, having a few top picks helps that, but it should be noted that Rizzo has managed to draft well. Strasburg and Harper are both well known, but there’s also guys like Anthony Rendon and Lucas Giolito, ranked the best young right handed pitcher by MLB.com.
Rizzo is also no slouch when it comes to deal making. He acquired Doug Fister from the Tigers and Tanner Roark from the Rangers in trades, and his creative handling of Max Scherzer’s deal will allow the team some flexibility moving forward. His acquisition of Trea Turner means that Nationals won’t be desperate for a shortstop if Ian Desmond leaves. In short, Rizzo is always two moves ahead when it comes to maintaining the talent pool.
I understand that Rizzo has yet to win a championship like Amaro or Alderson, but Rizzo’s importance to the Nationals cannot be understated. He’s single-handedly pulled them from the bottom of the league to World Series favorites, and that is no small feat.