Ex-Phillies manager Gabe Kapler has high praise for GM Sam Fuld

Gabe Kapler got booed three years ago before his first home game as manager of the Phillies, which begs the question of what type of reception he can expect Monday night when he returns to Citizens Bank Park with the visiting San Francisco Giants.

“I don’t know,” Kapler said Sunday. “I don’t want to say I haven’t thought about it. I have. But making that prediction, I just don’t know where to begin.”

It’s a testament to the complicated relationship that Phillies fans had with Kapler during his two years on the job.

But in a phone interview last week, Kapler said he maintains friendships with many people here, and not just within the Phillies organization. He isn’t sure how many friends he will be able to see over the next three days. Major League Baseball’s COVID-19 safety protocols don’t allow for much socialization when teams are on the road.

Regardless, it’s a safe bet Kapler will find a way to catch up with Phillies general manager Sam Fuld.

Kapler had a hand in Fuld’s hiring three years ago. Fuld worked as a liaison between the front office, an expanded research-and-development department, and the coaches and players in the clubhouse. He was in charge of analyzing data, breaking it down, and making it more digestible for players and staff.

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper homer, Aaron Nola two-hitter lead Phillies to 2-0 win over Cardinals

Back then, Kapler said Fuld could serve any number of roles in an organization. After an eight-year career as a major-league outfielder, Fuld was able to relate to players at an on-field level but also had the capacity to work in a front office.

Kapler wasn’t surprised, then, that Fuld interviewed for the Boston Red Sox’s managerial job last fall before the Phillies promoted him to GM in December under newly hired president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

“There’s nothing that Sam Fuld could accomplish in baseball that would surprise me,” Kapler said. “As much as that’s about Sam being smart, I think it’s also about how good he is at building relationships and encouraging other people to be good at their jobs. In these roles -- GM, manager -- that’s as much of your job as anything, empowering people to be good at their work and at times asking more from them.”

Like Fuld, Kapler didn’t take a conventional path to his current position. Before the Phillies hired him as manager, he was the Los Angeles Dodgers’ farm director, a front-office role that often leads to an opportunity to be a GM.

“I can tell you we had several of those conversations about career paths,” Kapler said. “We talked about a lot of what I experienced in a front office with a lot of successful people who’ve done some really cool things in the game. Again, I think he could do just about anything. Felt that way two years ago, felt that when when I first started having conversations with him. I’m really, really happy for him.”

Mickey Moniak had a rough game Sunday, finishing 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in the Phillies’ 2-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. He is 0-for-8 with six strikeouts and one walk in three games since getting called up from the alternate training site.

But Moniak’s struggles are only a continuation of the Phillies’ anemic center-field production. Adam Haseley, Roman Quinn, and Moniak are a combined 5-for-52 with 20 strikeouts and four walks. Moniak replaced Haseley, who took an indefinite leave of absence from the team last week for personal reasons.

Although the Phillies have other options at the alternate site, including Scott Kingery and Odubel Herrera, the Phillies are committed to giving Moniak a longer look. He’s expected to continue starting against right-handed pitchers as the dominant half of a center-field platoon with Quinn.

Manager Joe Girardi has said left fielder Andrew McCutchen isn’t a consideration to play center field.

» READ MORE: Phillies farmhands Jeff Singer and Zach Warren eagerly await the return of minor-league baseball | Bob Brookover

Former Phillies outfielder Jay Bruce announced his retirement Sunday. Bruce, 34, was 4-for-34 (.118) with one home run in 10 games for the New York Yankees this season. He batted .212 with 18 homers and a .736 OPS for the Phillies in 2019 and 2020, and finished his career with 319 homers. ... Chase Anderson (0-1, 4.00 ERA), pitching with an extra day of rest, will start Monday night against the Giants. He will be opposed by right-hander Kevin Gausman (0-0, 3.20).