Guardians' rising assistant GM in interview mix to leave Cleveland for Rockies job

Last month Guardians assistant general manager Matt Forman entered the news when he interviewed for the Washington Nationals open general manager position. 

And while he didn't end up getting the job, he tossed his name back into the general manager ring recently, as The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli reported yesterday that Forman interviewed to be the Rockies’ head of baseball operations. 

Guardians' rising assistant GM in interview mix to leave Cleveland for Rockies job

Even if Forman doesn’t end up getting the job, the fact that he interviewed for the job speaks to how highly regarded he’s viewed across baseball. 

Forman joined the Guardians as an amateur scouting intern before becoming the assistant general manager. He became the executive vice president in 2022, making him third in the team’s hierarchy behind Antonetti and Chernoff.

The Guardians’ front office has produced plenty of rising stars who have ended up becoming front office superstars elsewhere like Mark Shapiro, Ross Atkins and Carter Hawkins, among others. And, at this point, Forman seems destined to follow that path. 

The good news for Forman (or whoever gets the job) is that the Monfort family announced in their press release that they’re looking to get someone from outside the organization to “enhance our baseball operations with a new vision, innovation, and a focus on both short and long-term success.” 

And the plethora of candidates they’ve interviewed shows that. The man at the top of the list is James Click, who served as the general manager of the Houston Astros for three seasons. He was hired at the team’s sign-stealing scandal in 2019, but was fired after the team won the World Series in 2022. He’s currently working in Toronto with Shapiro and Atkins. 

The Rockies also interviewed Kansas City Royals assistant GM Scott Sharp, who has been a candidate for multiple general manager jobs over the years. 

Whoever gets the job will have their work cut out for them in Colorado. 

The Rockies are one of baseball’s most insular franchises and have been one of baseball’s worst franchises since they last made the postseason in 2018. They also play half their games at Coors Field (a notoriously tough pitchers park due to the altitude), which can lead to some drastic home and road splits for players on the roster. 

While those challenges may turn some potential candidates, it seems like it’s not enough of a turn-off for Forman to not want to interview there.