Saturday, February 22, 2014

Transcript of Ruben Amaro Jr. on Draftghazi

The Phillies decided Saturday to address the controversy over the reporting of two of their 2013 draft picks to the NCAA after both decided to return to college for their senior seasons after the second, Oregon State pitcher Ben Wetzler, received an 11-game suspension for what the NCAA decided was a violation of agent/amateur player rules.
First came a press release:

“The Phillies did participate in the NCAA investigation and a ruling has been issued.  We believe it is inappropriate to comment further on either the negotiation with the player or the action taken by the NCAA.”


Then came a brief Q & A with general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.:

Q: Are you worried about how this could affect your ball club?

RAJ: No, I'm not.


Q: Do you think it could affect you, getting on college campuses, checking out guys, and in future drafts?


RAJ: I think people know we do things professionally and the way we go about our business. So I think our reputation is very good.


Q: Was there a breach of professionalism by the Phillies?


RAJ: No, as the statement says, to me it really is not appropriate to talk about either the ruling or the decision. And that's something that is policy for us anyway. We don't talk about negotiations and things like that, and I don't think it's appropriate in this case either.


Q: Was it the same player agent involved in both cases?


RAJ: No.


Q: Was anyone on your staff reprimanded? Is Marti (Wolever) still in charge (of scouting)?


RAJ: Oh yeah. He's our scouting director and our assistant GM. Again, these are things that we don't think are appropriate to talk about.


Q: Were you aware when the incident was raised (in November) that it was being raised?


RAJ: I was aware.


Q: So it was cleared by you?


RAJ: I was aware, that's all I can say. Again, it's not really appropriate to talk about these things.

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