2:23pm: Bloom has turned down an opportunity to interview with the Diamondbacks, reports Piecoro. Dodgers executive Alex Anthopoulos did the same earlier this week, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman relayed Saturday.
9:58am: Rays VP of baseball operations Chaim Bloom and Royals’ assistant GM J.J. Picollo are believed to be candidates for the Diamondbacks’ general manager position, league sources tell Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The two executives join a lengthy list of names previously linked to the D’Backs job, including Ned Colletti, Kim Ng, Ray Montgomery, Peter Woodfork and internal candidates Bryan Minniti and Mike Bell.
Both Bloom and Picollo have been connected to multiple front office openings in recent years, even getting consideration for the same job on more than one occasion. Both were interviewed for the Twins GM job just last month, and both were contenders to become the Phillies’ new general manager last offseason before the team hired Matt Klentak. (Picollo was an early favorite for the Philadelphia job, though it was Bloom who ended up making the Phillies’ final three list of candidates for the position, along with Klentak and A’s assistant GM Dan Kantrovitz.) Bloom was also interviewed by the Brewers last offseason before they hired David Stearns as their new general manager.
Unlike the other known candidates, Bloom and Picollo don’t have any previous connection with the D’Backs themselves or other NL West teams, so they would bring a fresh perspective to Arizona’s baseball operations department. Bloom has spent his entire 11-year career in baseball with Tampa Bay, while Picollo has spent the last decade in the Royals’ front office and the previous seven years working for the Braves. Both are also younger executives (Picollo is 45 years old and Bloom is just 33) and thought to be more analytically-minded, which would also represent a change in direction for the D’Backs. The previous front office, led by Tony La Russa and since-fired GM Dave Stewart, was rather openly old-school in their approach, with an analytics department headed by a first-time baseball ops hire.
Not sure why the Diamondbacks would setting for second best when Ned Colletti is available for the GM position. With the Giants and Dodgers, Ned’s winning record stands alone among these candidates. In short, Ned has been a winner for 20 years and that is what Arizona needs. The Diamondbacks need to get over the psychological issue that they are third best in the NL West — and the best person to do that is someone who knows the Diamondbacks and the NL West inside and out. Ned took the dysfunctional Dodgers under McCourt and hired the right staff and drafted the right players to make them a winner! Indeed, the Dodgers are in the playoffs this year and won Game 1 against the Nationals because of Ned’s draft picks of Kershaw, Seager and Pederson. He also understands the International market with such signings as Puig and Urias. If the Diamondbacks want to win now and consistently into the future, then they should bring Colletti onboard and pair him with a new young analytic mind that is also necessary in MLB 2016. Math and analytics are needed now for the front office for any team to win, but for sure experience and a reputation for being a winner is also vital. The simple math of Colletti’s past winning record makes such a GM decision very clear for the Diamondbacks.
Colletti family member???
He has to be his brother or first cousin or something
Or knowledgeable
The Diamondbacks wont get the best, second best or even third best for the job. After reading about the anonymous execs who wouldn’t take the job because of the dysfunction and lack of security surrounding the position as well as the experienced GMs who have already declined to interview (Alex Anthopolous) it sounds like Arizona is going to have to settle for someone looking for their first shot at being a GM
I think you’ll find plenty of other fingerprints all over those draft picks under Colletti’s regime.
There’s a reason why he was isolated and confined to a small room in the Dodgers office, and kept well away from anything to do with actual decision making once the overhaul began.
With all due respect, I think Ned would try and talk Jason Schmidt out of retirement.
I would love to see someone come in from outside of the D-Backs and the NL West. We need fresh eyes.
Maybe Josh Burns, he only set the DBacks back 10 years the 1st time around
Why hasn’t Adam Cromie of the Nationals gotten any consideration?
Probably because their GM, Mike Rizzo, told their guys to stay away.
Who?
Billy King looking for a gm job lol
So far Colletti only one still on shortlist who has experience and a winning history.