Major League Baseball’s front-office carousel has already begun turning, even if the full scope of this offseason’s changes won’t become clear until after the regular season.
The Los Angeles Angels, Houston Astros and A’s all fired their general managers in the middle of the season. The Angels appear highly likely to keep John Mozeliak in their front office, though it’s unclear how the recent ownership change could impact things. After firing Dana Brown, the Astros did not “have any candidates at this time” and “haven’t even started looking.” The A’s search, meanwhile, has been a mystery, and the only publicly linked candidate is former Astros general manager James Click.
More vacancies could emerge once the regular season ends. So who's positioned to receive consideration? After conversations with numerous major-league sources, I've compiled a list of executives who could factor into searches for president of baseball operations and general manager positions this offseason and in the years ahead.
James Click, Toronto Blue Jays
Click was the Astros’ GM from January 2020 to November 2022, and in that stretch, the Astros went to the American League Championship Series in ‘20, won the American League pennant in 2021, and won the World Series in 2022. After, the Astros offered Click a one-year deal and he declined, leading to both sides parting ways. It stunned executives across baseball (it's “still baffling,” one source said recently) and it feels only a matter of time until Click, now with the Toronto Blue Jays as vice president of baseball strategy, gets a head job again.
Amiel Sawdaye, Arizona Diamondbacks
Sawdaye is a highly respected executive who has spent 15 seasons with the Boston Red Sox and followed Mike Hazen to Arizona in October 2016 to be the Diamondbacks’ assistant general manager. He’s highly respected in baseball circles and a close confidant to Hazen. He’s interviewed for various general manager positions, most recently with the Colorado Rockies this past offseason, and also interviewed in previous seasons with the San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels, among others. “He’ll get a chance at some point,” one executive opined.
Matt Forman, Cleveland Guardians
Forman started his career as a writer with Baseball America, and that eventually led to an internship with Cleveland in 2013. He’s since become the executive vice president and assistant general manager with the Cleveland Guardians. He interviewed with the Washington Nationals for their president of baseball operations vacancy in 2025 and is regarded by others across baseball as a prime candidate for a head job.
Josh Barfield, Chicago White Sox
Barfield has been a hot name in baseball circles for some time, with one executive recently texting: “He’s the best.” Barfield, 43, played four major-league seasons with the Padres and Guardians and is now the assistant general manager for the Chicago White Sox. He’s drawn consideration for general manager jobs in recent seasons, sources say, and with the White Sox’s ascension, he’ll continue to get looks. He’s a future GM, likely sooner rather than later.
Brandon Gomes, Los Angeles Dodgers
While other teams would surely love to hire Gomes away from the Dodgers, would he actually want to leave? Gomes, the Dodgers’ general manager, and Andrew Friedman have built the best roster in baseball history and are attempting to three-peat as World Series champions. He was considered for the New York Mets’ job before being promoted to general manager in 2021. Still, with his success and track record, it would hardly be a surprise to see big market teams attempt to pry him out of Los Angeles. But such a scenario feels quite unlikely.
Carter Hawkins, Chicago Cubs
Hawkins, the Cubs’ general manager under president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, interviewed for the Nationals’ president of baseball operations position in 2025. He’s been considered or linked behind the scenes for other positions, and in the words of one source, “is deserving of running his own operation” with the roster he’s helped build in Chicago.
Thad Levine, Milwaukee Brewers
Levine, formerly the senior vice president and general manager of the Minnesota Twins, is now a special advisor with the Milwaukee Brewers. He’s been considered for a few general manager positions since stepping down in Minnesota in 2024, most recently being linked to the Colorado Rockies’ opening in 2025. He will continue to get looks in future seasons, especially with teams wanting to recreate what the Brewers have done in recent years.
Mike Chernoff, Cleveland Guardians
Chernoff is the Guardians’ general manager. He’s been in Cleveland working with team president Chris Attoneti for 23 seasons. He’s had opportunities to leave, telling Terry Pluto, “Anytime these jobs (running other teams) are open, it’s a possibility. I’ve certainly had opportunities. But I love the people I work with. I love the challenge that we have in trying to bring a championship to Cleveland.”
Still, Chernoff will continue to get looks. Like Milwaukee, other teams will try to recreate what the Guardians have built, and Chernoff has been a big part of that.
Matt Kleine, Milwaukee Brewers
Kleine, an assistant general manager for the Milwaukee Brewers, is a key part of the front office and is someone numerous people across baseball consider to be a future general manager. He would make plenty of sense for the New York Mets if they hire a general manager under David Stearns, someone Kleine worked closely with in Milwaukee. He’d also make sense for the Houston Astros, though it’s unknown if he’ll be a candidate.
Bobby Heck, Tampa Bay Rays
Heck, currently special assistant to the president and general manager with the Tampa Bay Rays, is someone multiple baseball people have mentioned to me as a future general manager. “Total stud and total pro,” one executive said about Heck, who won the Scout of the Year award in 2023.
Kim Ng, Athletes Unlimited Softball League Commissioner
I’ve heard it from countless people: Kim Ng deserves another chance running a franchise. Ng, who was previously the Miami Marlins’ general manager, parted ways with the team after the organization planned to hire a president of baseball operations who would have worked above her. She was the first woman to be a general manager for a men’s team in any of the four major North American sports and the first Asian-American general manager in MLB history. She drew widespread praise for what she built in Miami and is highly regarded in baseball circles.
Will Hudgins, Milwaukee Brewers
Hudgins, now an assistant general manager with the Milwaukee Brewers, was promoted to the role after previously being the vice president of baseball systems and high performance. He’s been in Milwaukee for 10 seasons, also holding roles as developer of baseball systems, architect of baseball systems, director of baseball systems and vice president of baseball product and strategy.
Michael Schwartze, Atlanta Braves
Schwartze, the Atlanta Braves’ assistant general manager, has worked closely with GM Alex Anthopoulos. He was hired by the organization in 2024 as the vice president of player personnel after spending seven seasons with the San Francisco Giants as an analyst and eventually as the senior director of baseball analytics.
James Harris, Cleveland Guardians
Harris, an assistant general manager with the Cleveland Guardians, interviewed with the Astros in 2023 and was reportedly one of three finalists for the general manager position that ultimately went to Dana Brown. He’s been with the Guardians since 2016 when he was hired away from the Pirates to serve as the director of player development.
Will Rhymes, Los Angeles Dodgers
Rhymes, a former MLB infielder, is now the vice president of player development with the Los Angeles Dodgers and oversees the teams’ minor league system. He’s emerged a prominent member in the Dodgers’ front office and specializes in player development. He was connected to the Houston Astros’ vacancy by Jon Morosi of MLB.com.
Justin Horowitz, Washington Nationals
Horowitz, now the Washington Nationals assistant general manager under Paul Toboni, was previously with the Pirates as director of amateur scouting. He also worked under Toboni with the Boston Red Sox in their amateur scouting department and has been praised for the work he’s done by people around baseball. He will eventually draw general manager consideration, whether it be this year or in future seasons.
Next wave of future general manager searches
Cory Hahn, Arizona Diamondbacks; Matt Swanson, Los Angeles Angels; Trey Rose, Pittsburgh Pirates; Hamilton Marx, Tampa Bay Rays; Devin Pearson, Washington Nationals; Mike Snyder, Baltimore Orioles; Ben Sestanovich, Atlanta Braves.
Add us as a preferred source on Google