The Phillies front office is in a state of flux. Mostly everyone wants the GM fired, and the whole chairman/president situation is far from set in stone. So, it’s not entirely surprising that the Phils are looking to bring someone in as a … “franchise leader.”

According to Jim Salisbury, “the Phillies have longtime baseball executive Andy MacPhail on their radar as a potential new leader of the franchise.” What does that mean? Well, it’s likely he’d take the place of the aging and over it Pat Gillick as team president, but it’s possible he’s first brought in as a consultant of sorts before he’s appointed to that role.

And what do we know about MacPhail, besides the fact that the “PHAIL” headlines basically write themselves? He’s the son of Lee MacPhail, former American League president, and grandson of Larry MacPhail. Those two men are the only father-and-son members of the Baseball Hall of Fame (there’s still time for you, Andy). He spent time as the Orioles president of baseball operations, the Cubs’ president and CEO, and he won two World Series as the GM of the Twins in the late 80s/early 90s. His time with the Orioles help shaped them into the young contenders they now are. And if he comes in and uses the Orioles model to bring this team some success (not the Cubs model), those “Phail” headlines would be few and far between.

Kyle: I know nothing about MacPhail, but this bit from Salisbury concerns me: MacPhail, 63, is a well-respected baseball man who has longstanding relationships with Phillies chairman David Montgomery and club president Pat Gillick. The Phils need some new life, a different worldview. Maybe MacPhail’s the guy to institute it, but I kinda hate the fact he has relationships with Montgomery and Gillick. I’d rather a complete outsider, because this team needs someone to take an axe to its conventions.