The Rockies announced today that they have hired Ian Levin as assistant general manager. Thomas Harding of MLB.com reported the hire prior to the official announcement. “Ian brings a proven record of strategic leadership, key roster decision-making, and innovative player performance initiatives,” president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta said in the club’s press release. “With extensive experience across major league operations, research and development, player development and amateur scouting, Ian will strengthen every part of our operation. We couldn’t be more excited to bring him to the Rockies.”
Levin has spent the past two decades with the Mets. He was hired as an intern in 2005 on the public relations side, then moved over to baseball operations in 2006. He worked in scouting and player development roles over the years, getting promoted to assistant general manager with that club in 2021, a title he held through 2024. He departed the Mets a year ago to start his own company.
The Rockies have been trying to give their franchise an overhaul. The general perception around baseball is that they have been trailing the other clubs when it comes to data and analytics. That has contributed to a miserable on-field product. Colorado has lost at least 101 games in three straight seasons, with the most recent campaign seeing them drop all the way to 119 losses.
The past few months, the club has been focused on blazing a new trail. They parted ways with general manager Bill Schmidt at the end of the regular season. Assistant general manager Zack Rosenthal resigned a week later. The Rockies eventually hired DePodesta to run the front office. DePodesta later added Josh Byrnes as general manager and Tommy Tanous as assistant general manager.
Byrnes came from the Dodgers and Tanous and Levin both from the Mets, though Levin was away from the Mets for a year. What all three have in common is that they all crossed paths with DePodesta years ago. DePodesta has been working in the NFL for the past decade but was in baseball for many years before that. DePodesta and Byrnes were both working for Cleveland in the late ’90s. DePodesta later worked from the Mets from 2011 to 2015 before joining the Cleveland Browns.
Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images
