Ex-Red Sox OF Gabe Kapler reportedly interviewed to be team’s next head of baseball ops
Red Sox
Kapler, who has managed the Phillies and Giants, is reportedly the second former Red Sox player to interview for the role.
Another former Red Sox player has entered the mix to possibly become the team’s baseball operations chief.
Former Red Sox outfielder Gabe Kapler has interviewed with the team on potentially being their next head of baseball operations, The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reported Friday.
Kapler spent a good portion of his playing career in Boston, playing four of his 12 seasons in the majors with the Red Sox. He first joined the team at the trade deadline in 2003, serving as a backup outfielder who earned a good amount of playing time over the next two seasons en route to the team’s World Series win in 2004. After playing a brief stint in Japan following the World Series win, Kapler rejoined the Red Sox in the middle of the 2005 season and remained with the team through the end of the 2006 season.
Kapler is likely known by most baseball fans for his time as manager of the Phillies and Giants. He spent two seasons as the manager in Philadelphia, going 161-163 before getting fired after the 2019 season. He became the manager of the Giants shortly after, winning NL Manager of the Year in 2021 as the team won an MLB-best 107 games that season. San Francisco struggled over the last two seasons though, leading to his firing in September.
While Kapler officially ended his days as a player in 2011, he began his second chapter in baseball with the Red Sox four years prior to that. In 2007, he was the manager of the Red Sox’ Single-A affiliate, the Greenville Drive, working there for a season before resuming his playing career. He also worked as the farm director for the Dodgers from 2014-2017.
Kapler is the second former Red Sox player and ex-teammate of manager Alex Cora to interview to be Chaim Bloom’s replacement. Former Red Sox pitcher and current Cubs assistant general manager Craig Breslow interviewed for the role and has had “advanced discussions” with the team, according to The Athletic.
In addition to Kapler and Breslow, Twins general manager Thad Levine and Guardians special assistant Neal Huntington are the other two external candidates who have reportedly interviewed with the team in the first round of the process. The Red Sox have also interviewed assistant general managers Eddie Romero and Michael Groopman plus team vice president of player development and scouting Paul Toboni for the role, according to Speier.
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