Bill Schmidt Departure Paves Way for Rockies Reunion with Thad Levine

The Colorado Rockies should turn over every stone for a new general manager, but the search should end with the hiring of a former Rockies staffer.

Minnesota Twins general manager Thad Levine during the MLB general managers meeting at the Omni Scottsdale Resort. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Bill Schmidt’s long tenure with the Colorado Rockies ended on Wednesday. Now, the search is on for a new head of baseball operations.

Schmidt stepped down after four years as the leader of baseball operations. But it also ended a 26-year tenure with the franchise that started with him running the scouting portion of the franchise. He becomes the latest member of the organization to pay the price for three straight 100-loss seasons, including manager Bud Black.

In the release announcing Schmidt’s departure, the franchise said that the search for his replacement would begin immediately. Rockies owner, chairman and CEO Dick Montfort said the franchise was “… setting our sights on finding the right leader from outside our organization who can bring a fresh perspective to the Rockies and enhance our baseball operations with a new vision, innovation and a focus on both short and long-term success.”

It doesn’t mean that the Rockies can’t pursue someone that has connections to the franchise but is far enough removed to bring those fresh perspectives to a franchise that needs it. One easy choice, and perhaps the right choice, would be Thad Levine.

Thad Levine’s Resume

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Levine spent six seasons, from 1999-2005, with the Rockies as an assistant director, director, and senior director on the baseball side. That vaulted him to an assistant general manager job with the Texas Rangers in 2006. He worked under general manager Jon Daniels for 10 years and during that time helped build one of the best farm systems in baseball. That farm system fueled the Rangers’ 2010 and 2011 American League pennant winners.

In 2017, he took over as the general manager for the Minnesota Twins under president of baseball operations Derek Falvey. During his eight-year tenure, the Twins won three American League Central titles, made the playoffs four times but never got further than the AL Division Series. Levine left the organization after the 2024 season, saying that he had grown the franchise’s baseball side to the point where it was ready to work without him.

But, while with the Twins he interviewed for two PBO positions with the Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies. He is well-respected in the baseball community, understands how to build a baseball operations arm and has experience constructing a farm system to fuel Major League success.

For the Rockies, it’s a win on several fronts. Levine brings talent that it needs in its baseball operations. He can bring fresh perspectives from other organizations. He is also familiar with the Montfort family. Whether that’s enough to lure Levine back to Denver remains to be seen.

But, for an organization in need of Levine’s talent, the Montforts should give their former employee a blank check to rebuild the Rockies in whatever image is needed to achieve success.

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