Rockies owner Dick Monfort has discussed the team’s front-office vacancy with longtime major league reliever Adam Ottavino, Tim Healy of the Boston Globe reports. (That could be general manager, but the title could change depending on who they hire.) Meanwhile, Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic reports that Guardians assistant general manager Matt Forman and Diamondbacks AGM Amiel Sawdaye — who was previously reported to be a finalist for the job — are now out of the running.
It’s unclear whether the Rockies are seriously considering Ottavino as a candidate for baseball operations. Not only does the 39-year-old not have any front-office experience, but he’s still technically an active player. Ottavino participated in a major league game with the Yankees just this past April. He made three appearances before opting to become a free agent. He spent the remainder of the season as a free agent but has not officially announced his retirement.
Ottavino has long been expected to find a managerial or coaching role after his playing career ends. He specializes in using analytics as a pitch development tool. He is also media-savvy and frequently appears on MLB Network as a guest analyst during the offseason. Still, it would be shocking if a team hired him as its top decision-maker before he had any postgame experience.
The Rockies have always been one of the most insular organizations in the sport, both in their front office and in their coaching recruiting. They have announced that there will be no promotions during this period. Ottavino would be an outsider hire, but he also has strong links to the team and Monfort. He spent nearly half of his MLB career in Denver. He appeared in 361 games for the Rockies from 2012-18, averaging a 3.41 ERA.
Ottavino is personally familiar with the challenges of pitching (and succeeding) at Coors Field. He discussed exactly this during an appearance on MLB Network in May. It makes sense that the Rockies would want him in some sort of front-office role, but hiring a general manager is obviously a huge responsibility.
The Rockies appear to have no clear timeline for naming anyone to the top of baseball operations. Foreman and Soday are the only two known candidates left today. As of last week, they were indeed the only two finalists, Guillory wrote. It looks like they are branching out again now.
