"I love talking baseball," Jordan said Thursday. "I love talking to coaches. I've been doing a quick study, but I've got a lot of work to do to get as familiar as I want to be, obviously."
Jordan, 49, replaces Chuck LaMar as the top lieutenant in charge of the minor leagues. LaMar resigned as assistant general manager in September.
It's an important position for the future of the Phillies, baseball's oldest team for a second year in a row. Jordan will report to Looper, the team's assistant general manager for player development.
"He'll be involved in discussions at the major-league level, putting our major-league club together, all aspects," Looper said. "Ruben's been great. He likes a lot of opinions on the major-league club, on the staffing, on all areas. And Joe will be in that inner circle where we're going to be looking for his opinions."
In Baltimore, Jordan oversaw the amateur draft for seven years. With the Phillies, he will be asked to manage the development of the prospects after they are drafted. He said Thursday he did not foresee many issues in that transition.
Extra bases. Shortstop prospect Freddy Galvis began play in Venezuela for winter ball. He was 1 for 3 in his first game with Aguilas de Zulia on Wednesday. Cesar Hernandez, another young infielder on the Phillies' 40-man roster, is also playing in Venezuela for Bravos de Margarita. . . . Looper would not comment on the chances of retaining Ryne Sandberg as manager at triple-A Lehigh Valley. "Ryne did a tremendous job for us," Looper said. "We don't want to lose him at all. We have a lot of respect for him, and we hope to have him back here."
Contact staff writer Matt Gelb
at mgelb@phillynews.com or @magelb on Twitter.
