The Los Angeles Dodgers lost a key member of their front office as longtime senior vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes was hired by the Colorado Rockies to be their new general manager.
The move reunites Byrnes with new Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta, who was hired at the beginning of November. The two worked together in the then-Cleveland Indians front office during the late 1990s.
Byrnes had been with the Dodgers since the 2015 season, where he supervised the club’s scouting and player development. He was part of a historic stretch in which L.A. won 10 National League West titles, five pennants and three World Series championships.
When discussing the Rockies’ latest hire, DePodesta credited Byrnes for playing a key role in the Dodgers’ sustained success, via Thomas Harding of MLB.com:
“The Dodgers have obviously done a tremendous job across a lot of different areas over the last decade, but what gets overlooked is that they haven’t had tremendous opportunity in the Draft,” DePodesta said. “They’ve been so good that they’re typically picking at the very end of the Draft, yet you look up and their farm system is elite. That doesn’t just happen.
“That takes a tremendous amount of effort, in terms of scouting and in terms of player development, and having both of those departments sort of clicking on all cylinders. Josh has been instrumental in making that happen.”
Byrnes was part of a Dodgers front office that included several notable executives, such as former general manager Farhan Zaidi and former vice president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos.
Zaidi and Anthopoulos went on to receive promotions elsewhere, though the former has since returned to the Dodgers as a special advisor.
Byrnes had previous general manager experience with the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres, and now will look to help a Rockies team that has missed the playoffs in seven consecutive seasons, get back on track.
Josh Byrnes excited to return to Rockies
Byrnes previously was the Rockies’ assistant general manager from 1999-2002 before taking on the same position with the Boston Red Sox during the 2003-2005 seasons.
“I’m thrilled to be returning to the Rockies organization, especially at such an exciting time for the future of the franchise,” Byrnes said. “Working alongside Paul again is an incredible opportunity, and I’m eager to join him and the rest of the group as we work to bring championship caliber baseball to the Rockies.”
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