Update –> Former Phillies writer Andy Martino says the Mets have no plans to interview/pursue Wolever this winter.
According to this article, by a CSN reporter I’ve never heard of, Marti Wolever is reportedly thinking about moving on to a new challenge, to one of the Phillies biggest rivals no less. The Phillies scouting network is vast, and surely there are talented people who could come in and replace Wolever, but he’s been at the heart of the Phillies ascension to the upper echelon of MLB teams, finding lots of talent in the draft, talent that has both made it to the majors and also been used in trades. The scouting director relies on his scouts, obviously, but the directive for the type of players to target, and ultimately shaping the team’s drafting philosophy comes from the SD. Losing Wolever would be a loss, one the Phillies could deal with by replacing him with an equally capable guy, but it would leave me a bit uneasy, as its tough to know what to expect from someone you’re not familiar with. This should be an interesting sub-plot to follow as we get closer to the offseason. Here’s to hoping Marti changes his mind and the Phillies throw him a bone to keep him around.
Phuture Phillies 
Kevin Z is the reporter for CSN Philly that covers the minor leagues. He has his own blog called On the Pharm and usually just writes short recaps for every level of the farm system. He also appears on Daily News Live and Phillies Pre-Game from time to time.
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Well there ya go.
I’ll have to check out his stuff.
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Why not more money for him and more to spend on the draft makes sense,maybe he is frustrated with the lack of signings, just a opinion
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When I read his stuff I kinda chuckle, it’s not exactly groundbreaking. Being spoiled on this site for the last 3 years will do that to you.
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Yeah, I agree with Pat Burrell. If you want to quickly read what happened in last nights games really quickly, then he’s fine. Other than that though, he’s pretty weak.
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Hmm, kind of a dick move to put that out there (Wolever). Is he just looking for more money? Friend of the Wilpons? Dream to be the Mets GM?
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maybe not a d!ck move, for all we know Marti floated out the info himself…now Im not saying that, but just because something is written about a person that people may think is private, dont under-estimate the person in question desires to get it out there himself.
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The way he worded that article, it all sounds very speculative. Also makes me wonder why he would want to leave the phils. Offer of more money?
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The phillies are converting savery to a hitter
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Where did you see that anonymous?
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My guess is that Marti has some kind of frustration with his situation – he wants more money, or he wants the front office to approach the draft differently, or something like that. So he’s leveraging himself by putting that out there. I don’t necessarily think it makes him a bad guy. It’s just a fairly subtle way of expressing his displeasure with the status quo and giving the org a wake-up call.
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Perhaps I was a little too strong, but if the Mets are his hometown team that he’s always had a dream of working for, then I’d say “best of luck”, but to float the name of your employer’s big rival is the kind of move that makes me say “don’t let the door hit you on the way out”.
/Then again, I kinda fear Chuck LeMar having any more power than he already does.
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Todd Zolecki had the Savery note in his MLB blog.
PHILADELPHIA — Rick Ankiel resurrected his career when he stepped off the mound and grabbed a bat.
Joe Savery could do the same.
Phillies assistant general manager Chuck LaMar said Wednesday that Savery will see some time this season as a hitter with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He also said the Phillies are considering bringing him to the instructional league to hit.
Savery, the team’s first-round pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, is 1-10 with a 5.09 ERA in 24 games (16 starts) with the IronPigs. He moved to the bullpen earlier this season, but returned to the rotation because of various injuries and roster moves.
Savery played college baseball at Rice, where he hit .360 with 18 doubles, four home runs and 54 RBIs in 64 games as a senior. He has hit .273 (6-for-22) with one double, one home run and two RBIs this season in limited at-bats with Lehigh Valley.
“We still think of him — and I still think he thinks of himself — as a potential Major League starter,” LaMar said. “He has struggled as a pitcher and he has shown some promise as a hitter. We knew he had the ability at home plate, but we wanted to let him pitch and let him get to the Triple-A level and see where pitching takes him. So we’ll give him the opportunity to hit in a couple games this year, and hopefully, we’ll bring him to instructional league and let him continue to swing a bat.”
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My worry is if he leaves, how many scouts will he take with him.
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Well, if he is frustrated with the phillies, imaging how frustrated he will be when he is with the Mets. The Mets aren’t exactly one of those teams spending a whole a lot of money in the draft and if you look at their draftees, I have to say, its really boring.
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Frustration with Phils’ approach to draft would be a posibility, but we have to see how it plays out. Regardless of our view of how Phils approach draft, if you are the head guy, you might want more of the better guys you spent time vetting to be signed. Kind of like a designer interviewing the best contractors for a year to renovate your house beautifully and then told you can only hire a handyman to paint the bathroom and a furniture guy to reupholster the chairs.
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Really interesting on Savery. Given how deep he is on his MLB clock. I can’t say it’s a bad idea though, given the observation he’s likely hit is pitcher ceiling. I’m happy the Phils are flexible enough to think outside the box a bit on Savery. Or maybe inside the batter’s box.
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Yea, he’s frustrated with the Phillies draft spending so he’s moving to the one team most notorious for strictly adhering to slot, the Mets.
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I frequently hear the defenders of the Front Office’s spending habits in the draft (or what amounts to a defense of their spending) use the rationale that in the end the Phillies are still okay because they have great scouts…among the best in the league.
Well I can tell you one thing for certain, if the Phillies really do have the best scouts, I can guarantee you that they are not “okay” with what the MLB team spends in the draft. As a professional, to even be among the best you have to give you full efforts in all areas. I seriously doubt these guys spend all year on the road doing this grind only to see some of their best selections never signed because of the Blue Light Special approach to getting the signings done.
The only thing that would keep around a Scouting Director in that situation might be to be one of the highest paid guys. You would certainly want a raise to deal with that crap.
I agree the Mets have not been big spenders in the MLB draft either, but I have read they do offset some of that lack of spending with their international spending which is supposedly among the Top 10 in MLB. Who knows maybe the Mets finally figured out they were making a mistake and have decided to get serious about the MLB draft as well? They certainly have the revenue for it. And Marti Wolever would be an excellent hire.
It seems that with KC, the Pirates, Nationals, Reds, etc a growing number of teams in MLB seem to be waking up…albeit slowly…to the cost benefit potential relative to veteran salaries. Besides the usual big spenders like the Red Sox and Yankees.
I will be curious to see how this situation plays itself out and if we ever get any hints of how this report got out there and why.
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I don’t really disagree with your post Nobody, but the Royals, Pirates, Nats, and to a lesser extent the Reds, need to spend in the draft b/c free agents aren’t clamoring to go there.
If Wolever goes, I hope he lets his feelings known.
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Section 113 hit the nail of the head. How many scouts does he take with him? He’s certainly in possition to know who the good ones are. We’ve had something of a competitive advantage in the scouting department. No doubt that we lose that if Marti leaves.
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Section113, if he leaves can he take John Hinson’s dad?
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I think it should be noted that teams like the Pirates, Nats, Reds and Royals are always going to “spend more” because they are constantly drafting in the top 10 because they suck at the ML level.
Teams who actually win, and make the playoffs, aren’t going to have to spend $5 mil for a top 5 pick.
I’m fine with the Phillies draft spending, especially considering the results they have been getting, but I will admit that I’d like to see them spend a little more in Latin America.
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Savery conversion seems like a big yawn. Are they going to add him to the 40-man roster this winter and leave on someone else who is actually a strong prospect on the off chance that at his advanced age Savery can develop as a hitter at 1B? If you’re looking for our low-odds starting 1B of the future, or even a bridge to Singleton, who are you going to bet the 40-man roster spot on, Rizzotti or Savery? I don’t think it’s even close.
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I doubt that Savery would go on the 40 man. No team would take him in the rule 5 and then hold him on their MLB staff for a whole season.
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I think losing Marti Wolever would be a loss for the organization. A much bigger one if he took the best scouts with him. But then I thought they would miss their former Asst. GM, whose name I’m drawing a blank on, when he left after Ruben beat him out for the GM job. The drafting and development philosophy seems to be well established now so it should carry over to the next person to inherit the job.
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I agree with pp that it would be a loss, but I have a feeling that this revolves around some sort of control issues with Amaro. I really haven’t spent that much time thinking about Amaro, but I get the impression that he has very specific ideas and approaches to his work and is difficult to sway. It may be that he wants Wolever to conform to his approach, which frustrates Wolever. In that sense, Amaro might be making a push to exert more influence over scouting by having someone in there that he has selected and will abide by his beliefs.
Of course it could all be speculation by the writer. Also, I agree with 3up that going to the Mets would not remove any shackles, unless he were to get a promotion. An interesting development, one with definite risk to what has made our system so exciting ove r the past couple of years.
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“Nobody says:
August 19, 2010 at 8:20 AM
I frequently hear the defenders of the Front Office’s spending habits in the draft (or what amounts to a defense of their spending) use the rationale that in the end the Phillies are still okay because they have great scouts…among the best in the league.”
Not sure where your hearing this. What I frequently hear are the people who are complaining about the Phillies using the argument that the only reason the Phillies minor league system is still strong is because their scouts are overcoming the cheap ownership…
My response yesterday to one of those claims:
“Sorry, but the claims the the Phillies scouts are just so much better than everyone else that it makes up for the cheap front office is laughable. Don’t you think that those better run organizations who value the draft more would just buy the Phillies scouts away from the team and then have the best of both worlds?”
I certainly hope Welever doesn’t leave because I do think he’s very good at his job as are the scouts in the organization but lets not pretend that he’s solely responsible for the teams successful minor league program..
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Savery as a hitter: maybe they are just trying to light a fire under him about his pitching, making him realize that his window of opportunity to pitch in the majors is rapidly closing. Having him try to develop as a pitcher and a hitter simultaneously doesn’t sound like a good plan (unless one is Babe Ruth). It seems that Savery’s one appearance since this plan was announced was better: 3 innings with 1 hit, 1 walk and 0 runs allowed. Unfortunately, there were no Ks. We will see if anything carries over to his next appearance.
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Rick, the assistant GM who left was Mike Arbuckle.
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This also could just be a simple negotiation ploy since next year’s draft is supposed to be the best thing since clear Pepsi.
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Well, hell. Clear Pepsi was pretty damn good.
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I’m not sure Wolever matters at this point. The Phillies have a draft strategy and they seem to be sticking to it no matter what. The scouts he might take with him, as pointed out previously, are the problem. Scouting is a grind. It’s a lot of sitting in high school bleachers in the heat and a lot of lonely hours in the car and crappy motels. And the reward? You find a kid who you know can play, and the team decides they’d rather sign a handful of organizational filler guys who will likely never even see AAA.
I think a quick and dirty way to normalize the Phillies’ draft spending versus teams that have had higher picks because of worse major league records would be to subtract the cost of the higher picking team’s first round pick, while including the cost of the Phillies’ first round pick, then compare what they spend on the entire draft.
By including the Phils’ first round pick bonus you would be making up for the difference in subsequent rounds as the worse team picks higher than the Phillies in each round, and therefor would be expected to pay their draftees a bit more in each round (especially the earlier rounds. It doesn’t matter as much in the later rounds).
I suspect the Phillies, especially this season, would end up near the bottom of the league in spending given that framework (though I’m not sure how to account for teams that did not sign high picks, which may have been a viable strategy this year to get an extra pick in next year’s deeper draft.) Have to wonder if a guy like Frazier is worth 1.3-1.5 mil given that they’re already paying Herndon over 400k on the major league team to essentially pick up splinters. And they spent 750k on Juan Castro, who everyone on earth knew was not going to perform. And of course, more than 2mil on Baez, also a career underperformer.
It’s a question of philosophy. In general, the Phils’ philosophy is a good one. But there’s a point at which they become penny wise and dollar foolish. This season may have been that point. And maybe Wolever sees this as a trend and wants out before he gets too frustrated with the process.
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aksmith, I would argue that implementation of a philosophy is just as important as the quality of the philosophy itself. Wolever has been good at implementation.
The real reason to get down on this, in my mind, is the possibility that Wolever has gotten frustrated with the constraints put upon him and he wants more freedom. That implies that the Phils will continue to operate with a below-average draft budget (Wolever has seen he can’t change the constraints, so he will make the change himself), but with someone less skilled (or at least less experienced) running it. It’s speculation, I know, but it would be of concern to me if it were true.
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Who is our Pacific Northwest scout? He seems to be one of the better ones in the org.
Is he a Wolever guy?
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I’m pretty sure the NW scout is Tim Kissner who’s been there a few years. I think he’s the one who went to Canadian draftee Ethan Stewart’s work-out up in Vancouver I believe right after the draft with Pat Gillick.
I don’t know if he’s “Wolever” guy as he was hired by Arbuckle when Arbuckle served as Scouting Director back in 2000. Then Arbuckle got promoted to a position above Scouting Director (thought still effectively remained in charge of it) and Wolever inherited the Scouting Director title in 2001/2002.
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Maybe Wolever was having an affair with Chase Utley’s wife and he now wants out because Jason Werth found out?
I find all of this speculation about Wolever’s motives to be hilarious especially since the article clearly states that he isn’t looking to leave but MAY be interested in the chance to build an organization in NY.
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the phils should give marti the money they were gonna give frazier! lol!
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Another thing I Belive is the scouts get a bonus if the kid they recommend is pick first,or second.
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3up, that was a good one! I chuckled out loud (col?).
You don’t like the speculation?? That’s half the fun! But point well taken.
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Boston Phan,
I have no problem with speculation about if he is leaving and why but too many are using a blurb on an article about unnamed people close to Wolever as some kind of evidence to support their draft spending theories while dismissing another article about the Phillies offer to Frazier that undercuts that argument as unsubstantiated team propaganda. I understand that people tend to believe things that support their position and doubt things that don’t but in this case, there is nothing in the article that even mentions spending restraints as a factor so it’s pure projection.
If he leaves and says its because he wants the opportunity to spend more on the draft I’ll believe him but the Mets certainly wouldn’t be the place to go based on their history.
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If we lose Arby and Wolever in sucessive off-season, that is a really major hit. Lost scouts, degraded draft, scouting chaos.
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Misery and despair. People dying everywhere. 🙂
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Not everywhere, just in the greater Philadelphia metropolitan area. I admit that it’s not guaranteed to happen, but since scouts often have an attachment to their boss, losing both Arby and Wolever in quick succession can lead to the sort of scouting exodus that we saw when Giles drove Green out of Philly.
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Why would the mets want someone who does their job well? Someone who is competent and worth every penny of their contract? It just doesn’t sound like a mets type move. The story sounds silly to me IMO.
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Not surprising that there are no legs to this. From the start it seemed a little fishy, more along the lines of the writer saying to him.
“Would you ever leave the Phils for someone like the Mets?” And him “Responding it’d be interesting, and I’d have to think about it” or something along the lines of that.
And plus for anyone who follows the Mets they seem to just promote from within and keep cycling their own throughout the system.
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