The Rockies have been searching for a new head of baseball operations since General Manager Bill Schmidt left the club in early October. With the offseason officially upon us, the pressure to find the next person to lead Colorado’s front office is building significantly.
While Diamondbacks assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye and Guardians assistant GM Matt Forman both emerged as finalists for the position in recent weeks, a report today Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggests that, at least for now, neither Sawdaye nor Forman appear ready to be named head of the Rockies’ baseball operations. Thomas Harding of MLB.com adds that there have been discussions with both Sawdaye and Forman “productive,” but the Rockies are still in the middle of their search “The feeling was” that other candidates were still in the mix, despite Sawdaye and Forman being the only two publicly identified finalists.
It’s not clear if Sawdaye and/or Forman are still considered for the job or if they are no longer eligible, but at the very least it appears the Rockies will spend at least the first few days of the offseason without a true head of baseball operations. That’s not entirely unheard of, as the Astros parted ways with James Click early in the 2022-23 offseason and didn’t hire a new head of baseball operations until late January, with club president Jim Crane running baseball operations in that interim period.
As previously mentioned, Sawdaye and Forman are the only two names confirmed as finalists for the role. Click and Royals assistant GM Scott Sharp were once part of the search but are reportedly no longer being considered. Former Twins GM Thad Levine was linked to the position immediately after Bill Schmidt’s departure, but it has never been confirmed that he even spoke to the Rockies about the role until now.
Whoever ends up taking charge of Colorado’s baseball operations, their first decision will be one that becomes less flexible the longer the search continues. The Rockies finished the season with interim manager Warren Schaeffer at the helm of the dugout, but his future in the role and the future of the rest of the coaching staff in the organization will be determined by the club’s eventual hiring for baseball operations. If the team’s search for a new leader of baseball operations drags on deep into the offseason, the continuity provided by keeping Schaeffer and much of the Rockies coaching staff in the fold could become more valuable as other candidates settle into roles elsewhere in the league.
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