Rockies Land New General Manager in Longtime Critical Dodgers Executive

The Colorado Rockies have themselves a general manager.

Apr 12, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres executives (left to right) president Tom Garfinkel, executive chairman Ron Fowler and Josh Byrnes prior to the game against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park. / Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

The Colorado Rockies have at last hired their new general manager.

Just weeks after Colorado made some massive headlines across the baseball world when they hired Paul DePodesta of Moneyball fame back to baseball as their new president of baseball operations, the Rockies have tabbed Josh Byrnes as their new GM.

The news was first reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Byrnes has a ton of big league experience including the GM role both with the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres, but the most impressive part of his resume might just be the last decade.

Byrnes Has Been with Los Angeles Dodgers Since 2014

Feb 18, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Diego Padres general manager Josh Byrnes speaks to the media during MLB media day at Chase Field. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Colorado is now going to not only be the third National League West team which Byrnes becomes the general manager, but the fourth organization in the division that he has been employed by. Since 2014, the 55-year-old has been with the Los Angeles Dodgers as the senior vice president of baseball operations.

Byrnes was brought to Los Angeles by current Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who of course has established baseball's premiere franchise over the last decade under the advisement of Byrnes.

In charge of both scouting and the farm system, Byrnes' keen eye for talent has allowed Los Angeles not only to have an championship roster at the big league level, but also one of the most talented groups of prospects in all of baseball.

Now, he will get the chance to work with DePodesta and bring over some of that evaluation to a franchise which is obviously in desperate need of a talent infusion over the course of the next decade.

Byrnes and DePodesta Mark Start of New Era for Rockies

Cleveland Browns chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta laughs on the sideline before an NFL preseason football game at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

If Colorado is ever going to turn things around from their historically awful 2025 season, the time is now under the leadership of both DePodesta and Byrnes. Hiring this duo on the surface at least looks like an absolute dynamite offseason, but now the real work begins for the pair.

It's no secret that a full and complete rebuild is needed here and even in the most optimistic projections, it will likely be a half decade before this Rockies team is ready to compete.

Colorado has the right men in charge though, and if they can give their new front office the kind of support it needs in order to get the right pieces in place, this first offseason should be a step in the right direction.

Rockies fans are desperate for a winner, and hiring Byrnes to go along with DePodesta could just be the exact first step they needed to take in order to make it happen.

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