After a winter that saw plenty of activity from clubs in the National League West, opinion was split on whether the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers or San Francisco Giants would win the division this season.
The Diamondbacks and Giants were lauded for their splashy transactions, while some viewed the Dodgers as having lost the offseason. Lo and behold, Los Angeles went on to win a fourth straight NL West title, and the Giants snuck into the postseason via the NL Wild Card Game.
Meanwhile, Arizona, despite signing Zack Greinke and trading for Shelby Miller, finished 69-93, good for fourth in the NL West.
The Diamondbacks were affected by injuries but also multiple questionable decisions made by their front office. That eventually cost general manager Dave Stewart and manager Chip Hale their jobs.
According to J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group, Dodgers senior advisor Ned Colletti is a candidate for the Diamondbacks’ general manager vacancy:
Dodgers special advisor Ned Colletti is among a growing list of candidates for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ general manager vacancy, according to multiple sources.
It was previously reported the list of candidates included MLB senior vice president of baseball operations Kim Ng. She was a former assistant general manager with the Dodgers, and lost out to Colletti for the club’s GM job in 2005. Ng would become the first female general manager.
Colletti was hired as general manager by former owner Frank McCourt on Nov. 16, 2005. He was retained Guggenheim Baseball Management when purchased the Dodgers out of bankruptcy in 2012, and was given a multi-year contract extension that year.
Colleti’s tenure came to an end in Oct. 2014 when Andrew Friedman was hired as president of baseball operations. At that Colletti time was reassigned to his current position as an advisor.
Under Colletti’s watch the Dodgers won four division titles — including back-to-back NL West titles in 2013 and 2014 — and reached the postseason five times. Los Angeles advanced to the NL Championship Series in 2008 and 2009, but lost both series in five games.
While Colletti assembled competitive teams, he regularly faced criticism. Along with working in the Dodgers’ front office, Colletti serves as an analyst for SportsNet LA.