The Rockies officially parted ways with general manager Bill Schmidt this morning, finalizing what had become an expected decision after one of the worst seasons in MLB history. The Rox have already announced they’ll go outside the organization for their next baseball operations leader.
That alone is a change for a franchise that has promoted from within for its past two GM hires. Jeff Bridich and Schmidt had each been longtime members of the Colorado front office before ascending to the top of the staff. The Rockies will go in a different direction on the heels of their first three 100-loss seasons in franchise history. Yet given owner Dick Monfort’s reputation for loyalty that arguably tips into insularity, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the next GM has some history with the organization.
Schmidt’s ouster immediately sparked speculation about former Twins’ general manager Thad Levine, who had worked in the Colorado front office between 1999-2005. Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post listed him among five potential candidates for the position this morning. While that was a largely speculative tie, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi also suggested this evening that the Rockies are likely to consider Levine.
Despite holding the GM title in Minnesota, the 53-year-old Levine has never led a baseball operations department. He worked as the #2 executive under chief baseball officer/president of baseball operations Derek Falvey for eight seasons. He stepped down at the beginning of the 2024-25 offseason. Before that, Levine had spent over a decade as an assistant GM with Texas under Jon Daniels.
Levine’s name has come up in plenty of front office searches over the years, including with the Rockies in 2021 before Schmidt had been tabbed as the permanent general manager. He did not work in baseball operations this past offseason, but Morosi reports that he’d have interest in the Colorado GM job.