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Major League Baseball’s General Managers meetings start this weekend, and the Colorado Rockies are currently unarmed going in.
After discussions with Cleveland’s Matt Forman and Arizona’s Amiel Sawdaye fell apart earlier in the week, it appeared that the search for a replacement for former General Manager Bill Schmidt was back at square one. Talks about the candidacy of relief pitcher Adam Ottavino – still technically an active player – are not currently centered on the General Manager’s position.
Rockies Believe They Could Still Have Their Man by This Weekend
There are still some candidates that have been interviewed that have not been named publicly, and the Rockies believe they very well could hire someone prior to Sunday. As things currently stand however, a group of underlings that could include someone like Danny Montgomery, currently the VP/Assistant GM of Scouting, are operating the levers. The General Manager meeting are a starting off point for all off season activities, and are considered an important “fact finding” session that is used by scouts, agents and executives to begin discussions that will advance and continue at next month’s winter meetings.
The club has made a few personnel moves since the offseason opened up on Monday. Two major league players, infielder Orlando Arcia and righthanded pitcher German Marquez, have already elected to become free agents. Lefthand pitcher Lucas Gilbreath and infielder Aaron Schunk were outrighted to the Albuquerque Isotopes of the Triple A Pacific Coast League and righthander Dugan Darnell was claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh.
In early October, after Schmidt had been let go, they did sign free agent catcher Adafel Montiel to a minor league deal.
So someone is minding the store.
What Went Wrong for Finalist Candidates?
What went wrong for the candidacies of Forman and Sawdaye has not been confirmed. Speculation is that either or both – one man removed himself and the other turned down an offer, according to a report from SB Nation – wanted more autonomy than Rockies ownership was ready to relinquish. The result was an abrupt and even embarrassing halt to a search that was widely expected to conclude shortly after the World Series ended, but hasn’t.
It was in early October when incoming Team President Walker Monfort announced a search for Schmidt’s replacement would center on candidates from “outside the organization.” The search would reportedly center on front office people from mid and small market franchises, a category the Rockies see themselves as living in. Forman and Sawdaye fit that description.
Other clubs that would also fit the mid and small market label could include Milwaukee – which had the best record in the National League during last regular season – and Seattle – which fell one game short of reaching the World Series. Rockies ownership has very rarely – and not successfully – ventured into the high price free agent market, choosing instead to pour energy and resources into player development. The new man in charge of baseball operations will have to focus on improvements in this area, rather than shopping for high priced free agent talent.
This year’s General Manager meetings begin Monday November 10th in Las Vegas.
Mark Knudson Mark is a former MLB pitcher for the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies. He’s the only person ever to play high school, college and professional baseball in Colorado. Mark earned a BA in Technical Journalism from Colorado State University and has worked in radio, television and print sports media since 1994. He’s the co-author of “Pitching to the Corners” with former teammate Don August and the author of “Just Imagine,” a historical fiction novel about The Beatles.
Mark is currently a feature writer and columnist for Mile High Sports in Denver and recently joined the team at Heavy.com. Mark is also a high school baseball coach in the Denver area. More about Mark Knudson
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