Former Rockies Pitcher Reportedly Interested in Front Office Opening

It appears that the Rockies are not close to making a front office hire.

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Colorado Rockies have been looking for a head of baseball operations leader and a replacement for former general manager Bill Schmidt. They were reportedly down to a pair of finalists in Arizona Diamondbacks assistant general manager Amiel Sawdaye and Cleveland Guardians assistant general manager Matt Forman.

It's clear that Colorado needs to make a decision sooner rather than later when it comes to the position, but according to Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic (subscription required), both are out of the running for the job.

While Sawdaye and Forman are out, a former Rockies relief pitcher, Adam Ottavino, reportedly is interested in the position, according to Tim Healey of the Boston Globe.

Former Rockies Pitcher Adam Ottavino Reportedly Interested in Front Office Opening

Russell Lansford-Imagn Images

According to Ghiroli, both Sawdaye and Forman interviewed for the job over the last couple of weeks, but the franchise decided to go in a different direction.

"What transpired to prompt the Rockies to move in another direction is unclear, but league sources confirmed there were no other finalists for the job as of last week, meaning the Rockies have to reopen their search. It wasn’t immediately known whether the process would involve executives previously linked to the job, such as the Kansas City Royals’ Scott Sharp, the Toronto Blue Jays’ James Click and Thad Levine,'' Ghiroli wrote.

What prompted them to go in a different direction remains uncertain, but according to Healy, Ottavino reportedly spoke with Rockies owner Dick Monfort about the team's head of baseball operations opening. Could that be the reason why? We'll see how this ends up playing out.

Ottavino spent seven of his 15 years in the majors with the Rockies. He pitched in 361 games with a 3.41 ERA in just under 400 innings during that time. He was part of Colorado's last playoff appearance in 2018, pitching in three innings as they were eliminated in the National League Division Series by the Milwaukee Brewers. He also pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

The 39-year-old Ottavino is fresh into retirement, and if he his interested in the position, it will take patience and a long road to recovering from a 119-loss 2025 season. Colorado needs to make a decision soon, as the general managers’ meetings begin next week in Las Vegas.

Not having someone in place would not be great for an organization looking for better days sooner rather than later. Ottavino has no experience in the front office as he just retired, but at this point, Colorado can't be picky about their next leader.

---

More Rockies On SI

feed