Prospect Insider - The GM Candidates

The GM Candidates

By Jason A. Churchill

By 10-21-2011

There will be five clubs that start 2012 with a different general manager than they did this past season. The Chicago Cubs are in the midst of trading for Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod, which has opened the door for Ben Cherington to take over the Red Sox and for Josh Byrnes to get a second shot at the helm, this time with the San Diego Padres.

The Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles are interviewing candidates right now, and those talks should conclude sometime next week. I have been asking anyone and everyone in the game about the top candidates, so let's take a closer look.

Jerry DiPoto -- Arizona Diamondbacks
DiPoto, a third-round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians in 1989, pitched for parts of eight seasons with three clubs, hanging up the spikes after the 2000 season. He began his scouting career in 2003 with the Boston Red Sox and after two years took over as the director of pro scouting for the Colorado Rockies in 2005. He left for Arizona after one season, becoming the Diamondbacks' Director of Scouting and Player Personnel under GM Josh Byrnes.

Byrnes was fired in July, 2010, and DiPoto took over as interim GM, completing two major trades that landed the re-loading D-backs right-hander Daniel Hudson, the club's second best starting pitcher during their playoff run this past summer, and prospects David Holmberg and Tyler Skaggs, while saving the club more than $11 million in payroll.

DiPoto had three months at the helm and is still the builder of Arizona's 2011 National League West champs. He's considered a good evaluator and a savvy negotiator with patience. "I really like the way he goes about his business," said one executive. "He should be running a club."

DiPoto, 43, interviewed for the job in Seattle and was among the final two before the Mariners selected Jack Zduriencik.

Damon Oppenheimer -- New York Yankees
Oppenheimer, pictured above, spent one year as a minor leaguer and has been in the scouting and player development world ever since. He played at USC, caught Randy Johnson there, and of the results of my dozens of inquiries of the candidates, Oppenheimer received the most rave reviews.

Oppenheimer, 49, has held a number of prominent roles with the Yankees, including Farm Director, Director of Pro Scouting, Chief Advanced Scout, and is presently the club's Senior V.P. of Scouting. The Yankees, as you may know, have not been aggressive in the draft the past three or four years, if not longer, but Oppenheimer made the most of his class of 2006.

That year, the Yankees hauled in right-handers Dellin Betances, NL Cy Young candidate Ian Kennedy, setup master David Robertson, Astros closer Mark Melancon and Joba Chamberlain. The Diamondbacks, before hiring Jed Hoyer, asked and were denied permission by the Yankees to interview for the GM gig.

Executives rushed to chime in on the long-time Yankees talent evaluator.

"He's very bright and a very hard worker," one quipped. Another added "he's destined to bring winning with him wherever he goes."

Another offered this: " (Oppenheimer's) use of statistical analysis and ability to lead people has drawn raves within the industry. The Yankees may very well face a future without one of the game's most respected, decorated, and accomplished talent evaluators."

Kim Ng -- Major League Baseball
Ng's reputation as a disciplined worker with communications skills has led the way for her to be interviewed on several occasions. She's currently serving as MLB's Senior VP of Baseball Operations and has also spent time as a project analyst, presented arbitration cases, and has a thorough knowledge of the rules and regulations of contracts and transactions.

Ng, 43, has experience as an assistant GM with the Yankees and Dodgers and has been interviewed for GM positions in the past, including the San Diego Padres in 2009 and the Seattle Mariners in 2008.

There are those that believe her "fiscal restraint" is a perfect fit for the Los Angeles Angels, but a former cohort of Ng's told me Thursday night that she "is very good in negotiations. She can haggle and is a very confident and competent evaluator."

Rick Hahn -- Chicago White Sox
Hahn has been mentioned and interviewed on several occasions for open GM jobs, and has long been thought of as a premium candidate. He's interviewed in St. Louis, where he later withdrew his name, and the White Sox prevented him from interviewing in Seattle in 2008.

The Pittsburgh Pirates wanted to talk with Hahn before hiring Neal Huntington, but Hahn declined. He has an odd provision in his contract that would allow him to interview for the job across town with the Cubs, but that isn't happening anytime soon.

Among his strengths, according to his colleagues, is his ability to find value, stand his ground on his beliefs and not lose sight of the big picture.

Thad Levine -- Texas Rangers
Levine, 40, has been in baseball operations since 1999 with the Colorado Rockies and is considered a prime talent in terms of player transactions, payroll and statistical analysis. He's worked under Jon Daniels in Arlington since the fall of 2005.

"He's ready, I think," said one front office man. "He's learned the right way from the right people, and started from the bottom."

Levine, like Hahn, is a popular candidate whenever an opening presents itself, and his candidacy could be negatively impacted by the Rangers' success in October the past two seasons.

Tony LaCava -- Toronto Blue Jays
LaCava was a strong consideration in Seattle and Pittsburgh and is thought to be among the top two -- with DiPoto -- in Baltimore. Among his strengths include market analysis, communication and creativity. He currently serves as the No. 1 assistant to GM Alex Anthopoulos.

"Tony has a lot going for him," said one assistant GM with an NL club. "They lean on him pretty heavily for a lot of things. He can lead, has an open mind and leaves his ego at the door."

According to eight of the nine industry sources I spoke to about the aforementioned candidates for the two open positions, Oppenheimer is the best of the bunch and is the favorite get the nod in Los Angeles, just ahead of Jerry DiPoto and Rick Hahn.

He's been around, and a big part of, the success in the Bronx the past two decades, having missed the playoffs just once in 17 seasons and gathering five World Series titles. His vast experiences within the scouting and player development world are exactly what the Angels need -- and if the Halos make such a hire the Rangers, Mariners and Athletics may be in big, big trouble.

Of course, none of the above candidates are perfect, and there were doubt-filled opinions given in addition to the above, but each of those is centered around the candidates' inexperience as a general manager.

Additional Candidates
Mike Radcliffe of the Minnesota Twins, Logan White of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Yankees' Billy Eppler, former Dodgers' GM Dan Evans and former Reds' GM Wayne Krivsky were also brought up when I asked of other should-be candidates. White's name usually heads many lists and Eppler was a preliminary candidate in San Diego two years ago. Seattle Mariners assistant Jeff Kingston may have such a future down the road.

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Comments
The following 2 comment(s) for this article are shown below:

1. By: maqman on 10-22-2011 13:17:00
There's a lot of first class talent there, I hope none of them end up with the Angels. DiPoto would be my first choice, based on his time at the helm in Arizona. I'd still rather have what the M's have than any of these guys though.

2. By: ripperlv on 10-23-2011 09:43:27
I hope Ng gets a GM job. I'm interested to see if she can handle the job in a traditional man's world. Obviously, she has the prerequisites, but stepping up is another matter. Of course, plenty of males have not suceeded in the job also. But still I think it would be interesting how she does in battle against the Cashmans, Epsteins, Daniels and Friedmans in the big show.

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