Phillies make huge move with new assistant general manager hire

The Phillies have tapped into the Tampa Bay Rays’ highly praised front office and hired Ani Kilambi, who will serve as the assistant general manager and oversee the club’s research and development department.

Kilambi, 27, has been with the Rays since 2015 and served as the club’s director of decision science and assistant director of research and development. Much of this falls under the baseball heading of “analytics” and the Rays are considered one of the best in pro sports at that, so this hiring is significant for the Phillies.

Kilambi will oversee the club’s use of data in all aspects of organizational decision making.

In a statement, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Kilambi has “a terrific work ethic and a collaborative and creative mind that will serve the Phillies greatly in the years ahead.”

Andy Galdi had previously headed research and development for the Phillies. He left for another opportunity during the summer.

General manager Sam Fuld said Kilambi’s “skillset and personality provide us exactly what we were looking for when we started this search.”

Kilambi is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a double major in statistics and operations research and management science.

This is a very, very good hire by the Phils.