The Phillies front office picture just changed shape, and it happened in the middle of a pennant race. On Thursday, President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski announced a wave of promotions in baseball operations, with the club sitting at 74-60 and fighting for playoff position against the Braves and Cubs. Four names moved up: Dan Aucoin, Luke Murton, Ray Robles, and Edwin Soto. Longtime business-side executive Ned Rice also picked up expanded responsibilities.
Aucoin Takes Over Research and Information
Dan Aucoin was promoted to Assistant General Manager, Research and Information, putting him in charge of the club’s data and analytics operation. Aucoin joined the Phillies full time in 2023 after two stints as a consultant in 2020 and 2022, most recently serving as senior director of baseball solutions. Before that, he spent five years at Driveline Baseball as chief research officer, and earlier in his career he worked in analytics roles with the Reds, Blue Jays, and Rays. The move promotes him from senior director of baseball solutions to assistant general manager, research and information. It’s a notable step for a department that has grown in influence under Dombrowski, and it slots Aucoin alongside a group of assistant GMs that already includes Ani Kilambi, who has overseen the club’s research and development department since 2021.
Murton Gets a New Title, and the Farm Director Job Opens Up
Luke Murton’s promotion to the newly created role of Assistant General Manager, Hitting is one of the bigger changes in the announcement. Murton has been with the organization since 2023, when he was hired as director of hitting development, and he had been serving as director of player development and director of hitting since November 2024. Before Philadelphia, he spent time as a scouting crosschecker with the Padres and a scout with the Giants, and his playing career included a stint after being drafted by the Yankees in 2009. Because Murton is moving out of his farm director duties, the Phillies will now need to fill that vacant role, a search that’s expected to play out over the coming weeks and months. That’s a job worth watching, since it oversees the day-to-day development structure across every level of the minor league system.
Robles Expands His Reach Across the Minors
Ray Robles, a 16-year veteran of the organization, moves into the role of Director, Minor League and International Operations. He’ll now oversee daily operations, logistics, and scheduling for every Phillies minor league affiliate, including the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, while continuing to run the club’s international business in the Dominican Republic and handling visa and immigration matters for the organization’s foreign players and staff. Robles started with the Phillies as an administrative assistant back in 2010 and has steadily climbed the ladder since, previously serving as director of international operations.
Soto Steps Into Compliance and Roster Management
Edwin Soto was promoted to the newly created role of Manager, Baseball Administration, where he’ll work out of Philadelphia with the major league club on rules compliance and roster management. Soto, in his eighth year with the organization, most recently served as assistant director of player development. He and director of baseball operations Corinne Landrey are taking on responsibilities that had previously belonged to Ned Rice.
Rice’s Role Grows, and a Front Office Milestone
Ned Rice, currently Vice President, Business Operations and Assistant General Manager, will expand into a broader role on the business side while staying inside the baseball operations department to continue overseeing contract negotiations. With this round of moves, the Phillies now count five assistant general managers working under Dombrowski and general manager Preston Mattingly.
The announcement also closes out a long chapter in the organization. Lee McDaniel, who has spent 32 years in the Phillies’ player development department and the last 15 as director of minor league operations, is set to retire in January 2027. McDaniel is a well-known figure in the industry, having won the Sheldon “Chief” Bender Award for distinguished service in player development and earlier received the club’s own Richie Ashburn & David Montgomery Special Achievement Award. His retirement, paired with Murton’s move away from the farm director job, means the Phillies’ minor league leadership structure will look noticeably different heading into 2027.
Why Now?
The timing is the interesting part. Front office reorganizations like this usually happen in the offseason, not while a team is scrapping for a Wild Card spot in late August. But that may be exactly the point. Dombrowski has a track record of formalizing internal promotions to protect valued staff from being poached by other clubs during the offseason hiring cycle, since giving someone an assistant GM title makes it much harder for a rival team to pry them away.
With Aucoin’s analytics background drawing outside interest and Murton having built a strong reputation in player development, locking in their new titles now, before other teams start making offseason plans, looks like a defensive move as much as a reward. It also lets Dombrowski get ahead of Lee McDaniel’s retirement and the resulting farm director opening well before the offseason crunch hits.
For IronPigs fans, Robles’ expanded oversight of all minor league affiliates is the most direct connection, and the coming search for a new farm director is worth watching closely, since that hire will shape how the organization develops talent for years to come.
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