Andy MacPhail officially takes control of Phillies

THE UNOFFICIAL inauguration came this summer. But yesterday morning, the transition at the top of the Phillies baseball operations department became official.

Andy MacPhail took over as the president of the Phillies, the team announced in a press release.

MacPhail was hired in June to take over for Pat Gillick when the season ended. Gillick will stay in the baseball operations department in an advisory role.

"As the Phillies begin this new chapter in the club's history, we are confident that Andy is the right person to lead the organization," ownership partner John Middleton said in a press release. "Speaking on behalf of the ownership group, we are pleased with the input that Andy has provided over the past few months. His years of baseball knowledge, combined with his passion for the game, are important as he moves forward with his primary objective of developing a championship-caliber team."

Despite the change in titles, the 62-year-old MacPhail has been active since arriving this summer: He headed the team's press conference last month when the Phillies decided not to renew Ruben Amaro Jr.'s contract and again later in the month when the team did decide to renew manager Pete Mackanin's contract. MacPhail, who previously has worked with the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles, most recently as the Orioles president in 2011, has spent the first two weeks of October conducting interviews to fill the general manager's vacancy, a chore he hopes to have finished by the end of the month.

Kim Ng, arguably baseball's most seasoned female executive, who currently works in the commissioner's office, and Ross Atkins, Cleveland vice president of player personnel, reportedly were scheduled to interview this week. Others who could be under consideration include Matt Klentak, who worked as an assistant GM with the Los Angeles Angels in 2015, J.J. Piccolo, an assistant GM with Kansas City, and Thad Levine, an assistant GM with the Texas Rangers.

MacPhail has said repeatedly that it would be "ambitious" to have that hire in place before the team's organizational meetings, which are held during the final week of October in Clearwater, Fla. But that remains the goal, and the Phillies will undoubtedly have someone in place when Major League Baseball holds its annual general manager meetings, which begin on Nov. 9 in Boca Raton, Fla.

Gillick, the Hall of Fame executive who was in the general manager's chair when the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, will remain a strong voice inside the current front office. He's returning to a position similar to the one he held before stepping into the team president job when David Montgomery took an illness leave in August 2014.

According to multiple reports, first from CSNPhilly.com, Phillies bench coach Larry Bowa will be interviewed by the Miami Marlins a second time for the team's manager vacancy.

Bowa has served as a major league manager twice, most recently with the Phillies from 2001-04. He was replaced by Charlie Manuel before the 2005 season, but returned to the organization he played with for his first 12 big-league seasons on Ryne Sandberg's staff to begin the 2014 season.

Bowa likely will return to Mackanin's staff for the 2016 season if he does not get the Marlins managerial job.

Blog: ph.ly/HighCheese