Report: Phillies Extended Contracts of MacPhail, Klentak

With the Phillies in a free fall in the standings in the National League East, attention has turned to Phillies club president Andy MacPhail and general manager Matt Klentak.  After an offseason in which the pair were highly praised for their signings of free agent outfielder Bryce Harper, criticism has been levied at the pair as of late for not filling out the roster with starting pitching.  We learned today that the front office leadership will be around longer than we were aware.

According to Matt Gelb of the Athletic, MacPhail and Klentak have received contract extensions.

Klentak received one during Spring Training, Gelb writes:

Klentak received a three-year contract extension in March, according to three sources familiar with the situation, that makes him the Phillies general manager through the 2022 season. The club never announced the deal, nor did it ever detail Klentak’s initial deal.

Gelb writes that MacPhail received an extension of three years as well and his deal will be through 2021.

The pressure on the two will not end, however.  The Phillies were once 12 games above the .500 mark and had fallen to just two games over .500 as of last night.  Once division leaders by 6.5 games, the Phillies are now 8.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East.

The team actually is still in the lead for a Wild Card spot; however, the downward trend is easy to make one give pause.  The Phillies will need to add starting pitching before they will be taken seriously as contenders.  That will have to happen sooner than later.

However, MacPhail recently expressed doubts that the Phillies were ready to contend for a World Series title, suggesting that at the trade deadline the Phillies will not go all in, leading to some unrest from the fan base.   After Tuesday night's walk off win against the Los Angeles Dodgers there is some momentum that some moves could help make the Phillies a playoff team in 2019, albeit as a wild card.

MacPhail joined the Phillies in the summer of 2015.  Klentak joined MacPhail as general manager in October.  Klentak was previously director of baseball operations for the Baltimore Orioles under MacPhail's leadership.