Predicting the Next Front Office Gems
Who will be the next Andrew Friedman?
To briefly introduce myself before getting into the fun stuff, I’m Julian. I am a diehard Angels fan, and my sense of humor reflects said fan-hood. I’ve played and watched baseball my entire life, and I couldn’t be more pumped to get started with The Skippers View. My favorite players: Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Vlad Guerrero Sr., and Joe Mauer just to name a few. I’m deeply appreciate of any support, engagement, or feedback you guys have, and without further ado, let’s get into it.
Within the baseball community, names like Theo Epstein, Billy Beane, Dave Dombrowski, and now Andrew Friedman are synonymous with organizational success. They have and continue to pave the way for the cream of the crop individuals within front offices to have a real impact on their team's on-field performance. While they all share similar stories of innovating, outsmarting, and getting “The Extra 2” over the competition, (highly recommend Jonah Keri’s book on how new ownership and a Front Office mission transformed the 2008 Rays), they, and the next crop of front office gems, all come from different paths.
If your favorite team is lucky enough to have one of those gems, congratulations, you’ll likely be watching them play baseball in October. If you’re not sure if your favorite team has a front office gem, this article is certainly for you. In the next few minutes, we’re going to take a fun dive into Predicting the Next Front Office Gems. Let’s ride.
MLB has its group of current front office gems, ie: Craig Breslow (Red Sox), Chris Young (Rangers), Sam Fuld (Phillies), Alex Anthopoulos (Braves), Mike Elias (Orioles) and the list goes on, but we’re going to focus on individuals who are not current GMs or POBOs (President of Baseball Operations).
Brad Ausmus
The first of two Dartmouth graduates I’m going with is Brad Ausmus. Following a well-respected 18-year career as a catcher in the MLB, Ausmus, still only 55, has since amassed an impressive range of baseball experience in the dugout and in the front office. After retiring in 2010, Ausmus served as a special assistant in the Padres front office for three seasons before succeeding legend Jim Leyland as the Tigers manager in 2013 for four seasons. Since then, Ausmus was the Angels manager for a season, the A’s bench coach for a season, and was the Yankees bench coach in their 2024 campaign that fell a few games short of winning the World Series. Ausmus is as seasoned as they come in baseball. He is incredibly well-respected, and has a valuable perspective of having caught in the bigs, managed two franchises, and learned in the Padres front office. If he decides he is tired of watching the game from the dugout and wants to make waves in an team’s front office, the suitors will be lining up.
Sig Mejdal
The next potential front office gem I’m going with is Sig Mejdal. In Keri’s book (not sponsored), he discusses Sig, and his ascent from an unsatisfied NASA Mathematical Modeler to a St. Louis Cardinals Analyst. Sig played a key role in the Astros reign of dominance, serving as their Director of Decision Sciences. Now with the Orioles as their VP and Assistant GM to Mike Elias, Sig is poach candidate #1 for a team looking for their next front office gem. Sig has a proven track record combining analytics and baseball and churning out success wherever he goes. While family or other factors might delay him from becoming a GM or POBO, his fate is inevitable, and only one ticket wins the lottery.
Kyle Hendricks
The second Dartmouth graduate we’re going to look at, and first current player, is Kyle Hendricks. When I told
I wanted to debut with this article, Hendricks was the first person he responded with. Hendricks didn’t get the nickname “The Professor” for nothing. The combination of being an intellectual savant on the mound with being a Dartmouth graduate in economics with a mathematics minor already position him as a prime prospect to impact a front office when he hangs the cleats up. On top of what’s on paper, Hendricks garners massive respect among his peers in the clubhouse, and respect like that remains long after a player retires from competing on the field. A World Series winner, he knows how to combine his economics and mathematics experience with an experienced understanding of how players and coaches function. Executive Comp: Craig Breslow
Max Scherzer
The next current player I’m going with is none other than Max Scherzer. Mad Max is as competitive as they come. He’s inspiring to play with, and it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say he’d be inspiring to play for (as an executive). Scherzer will always have the bulldog mentality, but as he’s gone through his career, he’s embraced analytics as something that can benefit his and his team’s performance. Scherzer has been a key figure in the MLBPA and its CBA negotiations with MLB and the team owners. That experience being in the room where business decisions are made, with Scherzer’s competitive nature would make him a great fit to lead the front office of an organization that is in ‘Win-Now Mode’. Scherzer cares about winning, and at the end of the day, that’s what big time executives are paid the big bucks for. If Scherzer still desires competition after his playing days are over, a front office is going to get a game-changer.
Josh Byrnes
This might be seen as a given, but I couldn’t write this and not include Josh Byrnes. SVP of Baseball Operations under Andrew Friedman with the Dodgers. The bottom line is if Byrnes wants another shot at being a GM of a POBO with an organization, its not a matter of if, but when. Byrnes had a successful run as the GM of the Diamondbacks for four seasons, and has a multitude of valuable front office experience in baseball. I’m sure Byrnes is more than happy with the Dodgers, who isn’t. But if he gets tired of Andrew Friedman getting the love and glory, a blank check will be at his doorstep from a number of teams.
Yadier Molina
When talking about the greatest leaders on the field in recent memory, none other than Yadier Molina should lead the conversation. ‘Yadi’ will go down as one of the best catchers to play the game, with two World Series rings to silence any doubters. Yadi was a general behind the plate, unphased by the game around him. Yadi is almost a shoe-in to be a great manager, be it on the Puerto Rico team or a big league squad. If he wants to lead a front office one day, not a soul would be shocked to see his superior baseball IQ and experience make him one of the gems in the front office free agency pool today.
Honorable Mentions
David Ortiz
Mookie Betts
Mark Texiera
Shohei Ohtani (give me a legitimate reason why not)
Any Rays Quant Analyst or adjacent position