Itâs been a decade since Paul DePodesta, the new President of Baseball Operations for the Colorado Rockies, actually worked in baseball. After helping pioneer the sabermetrics/âMoneyballâ approach to things like roster construction with the Oakland Athletics and spending 15 years with various MLB organizations, DePodesta moved to the National Football Leagueâs Cleveland Browns back in 2015.
Now heâs back.
His new role as a baseball executive isnât like his former role when he was the General Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004-2005. As POBO for the Rockies, heâs now in charge of hiring the teamâs next General Manager. While the betting favorite locally is Thad Levine, who has known DePodesta since childhood, itâs not a lock. At his introductory news conference at Coors Field, DePodesta didnât sound like hiring a GM was his top priority, but it is a position that needs to be filled sooner rather than later.
âIâm not sure exactly how itâs going to evolve,â DePodesta said. âThe reason I say that is that Iâm a huge believer in building teams, as opposed to just picking individuals. I want to find someone who can help to fill in some of my gaps, but also maybe help fill in some of the gaps in the rest of the organization as well.
âIâm not dead set on anything right now, in terms of the actual person or exactly what their background might be,â he continued. âBecause I think it will really depend on how that piece fits in to sort of the larger hole of our senior leadership team.â
Colorado isnât going to lure away any other teamâs current GM with a more lucrative deal. The Rockies will be looking for someone whoâs seeking a promotion, someone who either doesnât currently hold a job in the sport, or is an assistant looking to move up.
With the book open on who and what heâs looking for, here are three âout-of-left-fieldâ candidates for the Rockies General Manager job:
Kim Ng, former Miami Marlins GM, current Commissioner of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League. Ng was the first female GM in MLB history. She spent three years as the GM of the Miami Marlins, getting the team into the postseason in her third year. Before that,
Sheâs got the resume. Does she have the desire? Itâs been reported that the reason she left Miami was because the Marlins planned on hiring a POBO above her, diluting her authority. With Colorado already having a POBO now, sheâs probably wouldnât entertain the offer to leave her current gig. Then again, a chance to get back into MLB might be enough of an allure.
Rick George, currently the Director of Athletics at the University of Colorado. George is retiring at the end of the Academic year, according to a report from the Associate Press. Heâs been at CU since 2010, and has overseen the move from the Pac 12 back to the Big 12, plus the hiring of football coach Deion Sanders. Before coming to Boulder, George worked for the Texas Rangers front office, so he has a baseball background. The plan is for George to remain in an advisory/emeritus role at CU, but perhaps a chance to remain in the area and return to his baseball roots would be enticing?
Charlie Blackmon, former Rockies All-Star outfielder. Blackmon is far enough removed from playing to see the big picture very clearly, yet still close enough to todayâs game to understand the importance of analytical information and itâs relevance to todayâs players. Heâs currently a Special Assistant with the team, and would be a very popular hireâ¦and Rockies ownership has always wanted to take care of their own.
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