Rockies Name Bill Schmidt As Interim GM
1:41pm CDT
1:41PM: The Rockies have officially announced Schmidt as the new interim GM. As per the team’s press release, “Schmidt will oversee all aspects of the club’s baseball operations,” which would perhaps imply that Feasel will either return his focus to business operations, or simply that Schmidt is the top voice in all baseball-related matters.
1:05PM: Rockies vice-president of scouting Bill Schmidt is expected to be named the club’s interim general manager, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports (Twitter link). After former GM Jeff Bridich resigned last week, there had been speculation that an internal name would take on the interim position, with Schmidt and assistant general managers Zack Rosenthal, Jon Weil, and Zach Wilson all floated as potential candidates to assume the role.
On Monday afternoon, the Colorado Rockies announced that they have appointed longtime scouting executive Bill Schmidt to the role of interim GM following the resignation of Jeff Bridich last week. Rockies MLB Insider Thomas Harding was the first to break the news.
Schmidt joined the Rockies as the director of their scouting department in 1999, and was promoted to VP of scouting in 2007. He has been involved in scouting since 1982, working with the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and Cincinnati Reds.
The appointment of Bill Schmidt as the interim GM makes logical sense with the July amateur draft fast approaching. Schmidt has run the draft for the Rockies since 2000. What remains to be seen, however, is if the insular Rockies will hire an outside influence as permanent general manager or if Schmidt will be retained following the completion of the 2021 season.
On Monday the Jeff Bridich era officially concluded in Colorado. The abrupt announcement just one month into the season leaves the club with a general manager vacancy to fill in the front office. Darren Gonzalez recently wrote about the new era facing the Rockies and how significant deviation from the previous formula is sorely needed. Greg Feasel has been promoted to the role of President, the first step in the process, but his day-to-day baseball operations experience is not robust. Internal candidates such as director of scouting Bill Schmidt or assistant general managers Zack Rosenthal and Zach Wilson could also be in line for a promotion to interim GM for the remainder of the season. This would appear to be the plan as the team indicated it will pursue hiring a permanent candidate for the position in the upcoming off-season.