Former Rockies Bud Black, Bill Schmidt Land New Roles with MLB Franchises

The Colorado Rockies’ former manager and general managers have found new jobs after parting with the franchise last year.

Former Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black watches action from the dugout. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Colorado Rockies parted ways with the past last year. Now, both Bud Black and Bill Schmidt have landed new roles.

Black went back to a franchise he worked for previously as manager — the San Diego Padres. Per Dennis Lin at The Athletic on X (formerly Twitter), he will serve as senior advisor to baseball operations. Schmidt will work for the Athletics as a special assistant in their scouting department, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post on X.

The jobs should allow both Black and Schmidt to put their extensive baseball experience to good use.

The Careers of Bud Black and Bill Schmidt

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Black joined the Rockies as manager in 2017 and spent more than eight seasons with the franchise before he was fired last May. He was 544-690 and led the franchise to playoff berths in his first two seasons. But the Rockies didn’t have a winning season after that, and his teams lost 103 games in 2023 and 101 games in 2024. Last year’s team set a franchise record with 119 losses.

Warren Schaeffer, his bench coach, was named the interim manager and was made the permanent manager after new president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and general manager Josh Byrnes took over.

Black was a 14-year veteran as a pitcher who went 121-116 with a 3.84 ERA in a career that saw him play for Seattle, Kansas City, Cleveland, Toronto and San Francisco, winning a World Series ring with the Royals in 1985. He moved into coaching after his retirement, serving on Mike Scioscia’s staff with the Los Angeles Angels as pitching coach and winning a World Series ring in 2002. From there, he managed the San Diego Padres from 2007-15. With the Padres he went 649-713 and never got the franchise to the postseason.

Schmidt was a long-time employee of the Rockies, starting in 1999 when he joined the organization after previous stints as a scout with Cleveland, the New York Yankees, Cincinnati and Major League Baseball’s scouting bureau. He was elevated to interim general manager in May of 2021 after his box, Jeff Bridich, resigned. He was named the permanent general manager after the season.

With Schmidt in charge, the Rockies didn’t have a winning season. After the 2025 season ended, he parted ways with the franchise, paving the way for DePodesta to begin remaking the organization for 2026 and beyond. The Rockies are preparing for their first spring training under DePodesta, Byrnes and Schaeffer next month.

Recommended Articles

feed