Mike

Hazen

That seems like a big loss for the Pirates, as pitching development is the one thing they’ve done fairly well of late. Bleich immediately joined the Pirates after retiring in 2019. The 38-year-old was the 44th overall pick in the 2008 draft, taken by the Yankees out of Stanford. He very briefly made the majors in 2018, only to give up two runs in one-third of an inning in his lone appearance for the A’s.

That the Red Sox, Hazen’s employer for 11 years before he joined Arizona, reportedly had some interest in him for their top job definitely gave Hazen some extra leverage here. The Diamondbacks made the postseason in Hazen’s first year as GM in 2017, but they fell short in five straight years before returning to October as a Wild Card with an 84-78 record this season. The team seems well positioned for the future after the recent rebuild, though pitching development has been an issue.

He’ll operate under president and CEO Derrick Hall and vice president and GM Mike Hazen in Arizona’s front office. McLeod served as Theo Epstein’s top scouting and player development executive for several years in Chicago before stepping down from his role with the Cubs this past October, almost exactly 11 months after Epstein’s own resignation.