It's over: Ruben Amaro Fired by Phillies (and rankings of every significant move he made)

Jack Merlino

In the early Thursday afternoon, the Philadelphia Phillies announced that General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was removed from his position. Incumbent team president Andy MacPhail had the final say on the decision. The position will be filled by Scott Proefrock until a permanent GM can be found in the coming offseason.

Amaro's tenure was marked with go-for-it trades and free agent signings, poorly constructed contracts, and the perception around the league that he spend little to no time planning for the future. Although his past 2+ years have had early positive reviews, it was nearly a foregone conclusion that Amaro would be out at the end of his contract.


It shouldn't be difficult to find suitors lining up for the Phillies GM job. They have a top-5 farm system and a very good chance at the #1 overall pick in the 2016 draft, not to mention how their payroll falls a step below where the Dodgers, Yankees, and Red Sox are perennially.

Here is a list of all of the significant moves Ruben made in his tenure, with a rating of -3 to +3 depending on how well it went and what was given up/how expensive the contract was.

· Raul Ibanez signing: +2

· Roy Halladay trade: +3

· Cliff Lee trade (acquire): +3

· Cliff Lee trade (depart): -3

· Ryan Howard extension: -3

· Roy Oswalt trade: +2

· Hunter Pence trade (acquire): +1

· Hunter Pence trade (depart): -2

· Michael Martinez (rule 5): -3

· Odubel Herrera (rule 5): +2

· Jonathan Papelbon signing: -2

· Marlon Byrd siging: +1

· Marlon Byrd trade: +1

· Placido Polanco signing: 0

· Dannys Baez, Chad Qualls signings (combined): -3

· Ross Gload, Laynce Nix, Ty Wigginton (combined): -3

· Jimmy Rollins extension: +1

· Jimmy Rollins trade: +2

· Cole Hamels extension: +1

· Cole Hamels trade: +3

· Chase Utley extension: -1

· Chase Utley trade: +1

· Ben Revere trade (acquire): +1

· Ben Revere trade (depart): +1

· 2009 draft: -1

· 2010 draft: -2

· 2011 draft: +1

· 2012 draft: -2

· 2013 draft: +2

· 2014 draft: +1

· 2015 draft: +1

Ruben finishes with a +5 overall, all major moves & drafts considered. Still, it was the magnitude of his bad contracts/deals and the distinct lack of World Series wins that had him on the hot seat for the past 2 years. It also didn't help that under his reign, the Phillies followed a linear downgrade in terms of season result every single year. That most likely is why he is without a job as of the writing of this article. Look for him to get some sort of advisory or scouting role with the Phillies in the future.

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