Matt Klentak: 'We Want To Build Winning Environment'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Major League Baseball trade deadline came and went and the Philadelphia Phillies remained quiet.
At 48-59, many hoped the Phils would sell off some of their assets -- most notably Jeremy Hellickson and Jeanmar Gomez -- to improve their farm system.
First-year Phillies general manager Matt Klentak, however, says he is not frustrated at all.
"I'm not frustrated at all," Klentak told the Angelo Cataldi and 94WIP Morning Show on Monday. "I'm very mindful of what our record is right now, but the truth is -- the fact, particularly in the starting rotation, the fact that we run somebody out there every night that gives us a chance to win. I like that."
Klentak, 35, is concerned with building a winning culture no matter the team's record, and even managed to take a swipe at former Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie and The Process.
"We will put forth our best effort to win whenever we can," Klentak said. "That's part of the reason we didn't trade Jeremy Hellickson and others in the last few days. We want them to help us win. We want them to help build a winning environment, even in a year that may not end in the playoffs, we want to make sure that we're doing the right thing organizationally. And whether it's this offseason or next year or in the following years, there will certainly be aggressive activity to spend more money, to add free agents, to make trades. When that is? It would be unwise of me to guess at that. I don't actually know.
Listen: Matt Klentak on the 94WIP Morning Show
"The process here -- and I've learned, I think from your show, that process is not the best word to use when we're talking about things like this." he continued. "But if you use the word I'll use it. The way we go about things here, we were here all weekend. Our whole stuff...we're all around the table and everyone has their information that they're providing...We come to a decision on whether we're going to pursue something or not."
22-year-old right-handed pitcher Jake Thomspon is 11-5 with 2.50 ERA for Lehigh Valley (Triple-A) and over his last 10 games, Thompson is 7-0 with a 1.32 ERA. Some are concerned that because of the Phillies' inability to move Hellickson, Thompson's major league debut will be delayed.
"He's 22-years-old," Klentak urged. "This is his first year pitching regularly in Triple-A and he's been on a nice run of late, but I don't -- he's got plenty of time still ahead of him. Developmentally, there's still things he's working on. He's definitely close to being big league ready, I wouldn't dispute that. Whether it was today, whether it's August 2nd, whether it's September 2nd, or whether it's next April or May -- there's not a huge separator for me in when that is. The longer he spends in Triple-A the more ready he's gonna be. And isn't that the goal?"
