The Rockies announced Wednesday that general manager Bill Schmidt is stepping down from his post. While Schmidt and the team framed it as a mutual parting of ways, that Schmidt was fired. Regardle s, theyve begun a search to bring in a new head of baseball operations from outside the organization, according to the team. After a number of conversations, we decided it is time for me to step aside and make way for a new voice to guide the clubs baseball operations, Schmidt said within this mornings pre s release. Its been an honor to serve the Rockies family for over 25 years. Im thankful to the Monfort family for the opportunity, to my family for their constant support, and our staff for their tirele s dedication. Better seasons are ahead for the Rockies and our great fans, and I look forward to seeing it come to life in the years ahead. Schmidt spent four-plus seasons as the GM in Colorado Babe Herman Jersey , originally taking over for Jeff Bridich after Bridich was fired during the 2021 season. The Rockies quickly stripped away the interim title following the season and named Schmidt the full-time general manager just the fourth GM in Rockies franchise history. As was the case with predece sors Bridich and Dan ODowd, Schmidt was an internal promotion. Hed previously served as the clubs scouting director dating back to the 2000 season. The move to hire someone from outside the organization represents a major ideological shift. Owner Dick Monfort would surely prefer to describe his family as loyal perhaps to a fault but onlookers and critics would frame the Rockies as an insular organization that has fallen behind the times. Colorados baseball operations and analytics departments are reportedly among the smallest in Major League Baseball, if not the smallest. Beyond remaking the roster, the incoming baseball operations head will also have ample work to do in modernizing and bolstering the teams infrastructure. Bills departure allows our club to seek a new leader of our baseball department experienced in areas where we know we need to grow within the operation, Monfort said in the pre s release. Monforts son, Walker, who was promoted to executive vice president this past June, added: A new voice will benefit our organization as we work towards giving our fans the competitive team they deserve. We are setting our sights on finding the right leader from outside our organization who can bring a fresh perspective to the Rockies and enhance our baseball operations with a new vision, innovation and a focus on both short and long-term succe s. The Rockies, under Schmidt and Bridich before him, have enjoyed little to no succe s. Colorado hasnt made the postseason since back-to-back Wild Card appearances in 2017-18. Those were just the fourth and fifth postseason berths of what is now the franchises 33-year history. The Rockies have never won the National League West. This years 43-119 record is the worst in franchise history and marks their third consecutive 100-lo s season. As Saunders points out in his piece, this years collective 6.65 ERA from the Rockies rotation is the worst mark by any club since earned run average became an officially tracked statistic back in 1913. Among the 12 pitchers to start a game for the Rockies this year, only (4.98), (4.75) and (0.00) had an ERA under 5.00. Feltner made only six starts due to injury. Rolison started one game, to sing a scorele s inning as an opener. Schmidts four-plus seasons as general manager saw the Rockies move away from the prior core featuring notable veterans like , , and . While there have been some high points the emergence of shortstop and catcher , most notably theyve been vastly outweighed by mi steps that have left the club with a roster devoid of talent and a barren farm system. Baseball America ranked the Rockies system 27th following this years draft and trade deadline the same as when Schmidt took over as permanent general manager. The Rockies have regularly opted not to trade players at peak value even in losing seasons, holding onto Story, Gray, and , among many others, when any could have been valuable trade chips at the deadline. Colorado netted a draft pick for Storys departure when he rejected a qualifying offer and signed in Boston, but Gray simply left with no compensation for the organization. Bard, rather than being traded at the 2022 deadline, instead signed a two-year, $19MM extension that did not pan out well for the team. This years trade of McMahon to the Yankees marked a notable change in direction, but even that decision was arguably made a year too late. Schmidt was also in the GM chair when Colorado signed to a disastrous $182MM contract, though that decision very likely falls more on ownership than the front office. Beyond the teams distaste for trading veteran players to bring in young talent, the Rockies havent capitalized on their perennially high selections in the amateur draft. Colorado hasnt selected lower than tenth in the draft since 2019, but none of their top picks in that time , , , , have made an impact on the team to date. Condon and Dollander remain promising, well-regarded young players, but Condons selection over likely AL Rookie of the Year (who went to the As one pick later) now looks glaring, even if it was sensible at the time. The last Rockies day one pick with even one WAR, per Baseball-Reference, was , whom they selected third overall back in 2015. Overhauling this operation will be a daunting task one thatll surely take multiple years. The Rockies will need to significantly build out their baseball operations, analytics and player development departments and build a farm system practically from the ground up. Thatll need to happen without the benefit of shopping many players on the current roster, as the majority of their team po se ses minimal trade value as one would expect from a club that just lost 119 games. There are a handful of big leaguers who could bring back a notable return on the trade market, but Schmidts ouster has the feel of a total system reboot that could very well see the team extend its streak of 100-lo s seasons. Tony Gonsolin Jersey
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