With the Nationals hiring Paul Toboni as president of baseball operations, the Rockies are the only team searching for a new front office head. That could soon be coming to an end, as Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports that the Rox will narrow to a group of finalists next week.
Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post hears similarly and writes that the Rox still have yet to determine whether the new hire will be given the title of general manager or president of baseball operations. That could be based on whomever they hire. If they tab a GM from another club, they’d need to give that person the president of baseball ops title to represent a promotion.
There are three known interviewees for the Rox’s top job: Royals assistant GM Scott Sharp, Guardians AGM Matt Forman, and Blue Jays vice president of baseball strategy James Click. It’s not clear how many other candidates are under consideration. Click is the only one of those three who has experience running a baseball operations department. He led the Astros between 2020-22, winning a World Series in the last of those seasons. He clashed with owner Jim Crane, though, and the Astros moved on after Click rejected a one-year extension offer on the heels of the championship.
While the front office leader is the most significant hire, Saunders reports that the team is also set to hire a chief revenue/strategy officer. That person will work mostly on the business side, though the stated goal is for increased revenues to be reinvested back into the team’s notoriously thin baseball operations infrastructure.
According to Saunders, the front office search is being headed by executive vice president Walker Monfort — the son of owner Dick Monfort. It’s not entirely clear how the baseball operations staff is structured in the interim. Former GM Bill Schmidt and assistant GM Zack Rosenthal are both out, and the team did not name an interim general manager. It stands to reason they’ll want their new top executive in place by the end of the month. The World Series could end as soon as October 28 in the event of a sweep. The trade market reopens the day after the World Series and the first few days of the offseason see plenty of waiver activity.
Gotta pick Click. He’s had experience and part of a successful organization. Plus look at Toronto this year.
The right guy for the job is probably Colorado native John Mozielak.
ROX? Why?
Rockies To Narrow Front Office Search To Finalists Next Week
Requirements include:
Indoor plumbing
Close proximity to Rox(rocks?)
Additional requirements may be added as necessary.
The Rockies President of Baseball Operations role is one many baseball executives have spoken about being an Executives Dream job.
Andrew Friedman, the Los Angeles Dodgers President of Baseball Operations told Drew Goodman, Rockies Color Analyst, over the summer the Rockies role would be his dream job.
Now everyone wonders why?
The mad scientist in every executive wants the challenge of building something great out of nothing. And in a league where you want the opportunity to leave your legacy anywhere you want building a champion in Colorado would be the greatest achievement in MLB history… That would carry your legacy for life.
If the new President of Baseball Operations built a championship in Colorado, you are correct, they would create their legacy for life. Getting pitchers to adapt to altitude and the hitters to have their home/road splits even out. Don’t worry about attendance as the Rockies still finished in the middle of the pack and a winner would vault them back into the top ten.
I know what Friedman means by the challenge in Colorado, but on the other hand how many in his position feel their dream job is to work for an organization with open pockets. To be able to purchase whoever they want and not worry about luxury taxes. Whoever they hire needs full control over the baseball aspects and the Monforts stay out of it. As a friend of mine says ” Don’t paint over rotten wood”.
I agree. Where everyone seems to be missing the point here is the Rockies are building a larger organization through the leadership of Walker Monfort.
Their decision to hire a Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Strategy Officer in addition to the President of Baseball Operations tells me Walker is looking to the future of the organization, while addressing the needs of today.
As a die-hard fan since the inception of the franchise, this is the first tine we’ve seen the Rockies invest into the organization like this.
I’m with you and since day one in ’93 our family has bled purple. To be a loyal fan of this franchise we’ve taken a beating from the criticism, but it’s not unwarranted for the most part. We deserve an overhaul in a positive way and hope for the best. I actually received a phone call in 2010 from Dick Monfort after a letter I sent to the front office. At that time he wanted Cargo (happy b-day today) and Tulo locked up for several years. There was hope at that time and I’d sure like to get that feeling back.
That would require a radical shift in ownership.
Actually interviewing outside the organization candidates already a radical shift for Rockies