It appears the Los Angeles Angels have a favorite in their search for general manager in Tampa Bay Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Freidman. However, the chances of Friedman landing in Anaheim are "slim," according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times:
But Friedman's loyalty to Tampa Bay owner Stuart Sternberg, who has referred to Friedman as "a partner," appears to be the biggest obstacle to the Angels luring him to Anaheim.
Friedman met with Angels' owner Arte Moreno and team president John Carpino in Tampa Bay last week, one of several candidates to interview with the Angels. DiGiovanna also reported that if the Angels were able to hire Freidman it would be as team president with one of the other candidates serving as GM.
This seems to be the hot trend this offseason, as the Chicago Cubs were able to lure Theo Epstein away from the Boston Red Sox by offering him (a) a boatload of money; and (b) a position of team president. Under Epstein, the Cubs are expected to also land GM Jed Hoyer and scouting director Jason McLeod from the San Diego Padres by Monday.
Why get one general manager when two will do? A passage from Jonah Keri's book The Extra 2%, about Friedman's Rays, addresses the issue of having a stable team of executives in place:
"We're transitioning away from the GM as superhero," said Vince Gennaro, author of Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball. "Today you have to have an infrastructure in place if you want to successfully run an organization."
DiGiovanna reported that the Angels hope to have a GM in place by next week.
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