DENVER – The Colorado Rockies announced today that Paul DePodesta has been named the club’s president of baseball operations, effective immediately.
DePodesta joins the Rockies with a distinguished career in both Major League Baseball and the National Football League, most recently serving as the Cleveland Browns’ chief strategy officer since 2016. In that role, he was tasked with implementing systems while working across the organization, including with ownership, the front office, coaching staff, player personnel staff, and analytics team.
Prior to his time with the Browns, DePodesta spent 20 years in Major League Baseball, most recently serving as the vice president of player development and amateur scouting with the New York Mets from 2011-15. Prior to his tenure with the Mets, DePodesta served as a special assistant for baseball operations and executive vice president with the San Diego Padres from 2006-10, as general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2004-05 and as an assistant general manager with the Oakland Athletics from 1999-2003 as a key figure in the “Moneyball” era. He began his career in baseball with the Cleveland Indians, serving as an intern in player development in 1996 before becoming the Major League advance scout for the 1997-98 season and later the special assistant to the GM. During his time in MLB, DePodesta was the only executive to win division titles with five different organizations.
“Paul’s previous work in MLB set the foundation for many aspects of the way the game is analyzed today and we are thrilled for him to be a key figure in our future. Under his leadership, we will evolve the Colorado Rockies into what we know will be an exciting new era,” said Rockies Executive Vice President Walker Monfort. “Hiring Paul is an essential first step to the evolution of our baseball department and we’re confident that he will not only maximize our current personnel but will also bring in additional leaders from outside the organization to help lead us forward.”
“Today is an exciting day for the Rockies organization as we welcome Paul as our new president of baseball operations,” said Owner, Chairman and CEO Dick Monfort. “Paul was the very first person we interviewed, and throughout our conversations with him Walker and I were both intrigued by his understanding of the game, his positive attitude, his process-based mindset and his influence on the game. This is a special guy with great vision and a great plan. He is a winner and he is going to win in Colorado.”
“I have always kept my eye on baseball and this is an incredible opportunity to help make an impact in the next chapter of the Rockies,” DePodesta said. “Building a consistent winner here is a shared goal and one that I am eager to embrace alongside Rockies leaders, staff, players, and fans. I am ready for the challenge and excited to get started immediately.”
A native of Alexandria, Va., DePodesta graduated cum laude from Harvard in 1995 with a degree in economics while playing both baseball and football for the Crimson.
DePodesta will report to the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas, Nev., Nov. 10-12. The Rockies will host a press conference to introduce DePodesta on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 10 a.m. MT at Coors Field. Media wishing to attend must request credentials at credentials.mlb.com.