When the Boston Red Sox decided to pull the plug on the Chaim Bloom experience last week, team owner John Henry said that it was the ‘signaling of a new direction’ for the club.
But that ‘new direction’ may come with the return of an old friend, according to the latest report when it comes to the club’s pursuit of Bloom’s replacement as Boston’s top decision-maker in baseball ops.
Per an X post from ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Diamondbacks’ Mike Hazen is a name that’s being discussed with the Red Sox organization as a possibility as the team’s next head of baseball ops. Olney went on to note that Hazen is under contract with Arizona through next that season (and that this could be a path for the Diamondbacks to extend him), and that the Red Sox would ultimately need permission to talk with him about their opening.
Feb 17, 2023; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen talks to manager Torey Lovullo during spring training workouts at Salt River Fields. (Rob Schumacher/Arizona Republic)
Hazen, of course, was with the Red Sox from 2006 through 2016, and served under Dave Dombrowski as the team’s general manager in his final role with the club. But Hazen wore a number of hats throughout his decade-long run with the Sox, as Hazen worked as the team’s director of player development, vice president, assistant general manager, and senior vice president before his promotion as Dombrowski’s right-hand man.
Prior to his time with the Red Sox, Hazen spent five years with the Guardians franchise in a variety of roles.
In Arizona, the Massachusetts-born Hazen has overseen a D’Backs franchise that was ranked as having the 12th-best farm system in the latest MLB Pipeline rankings. One issue with the Diamondbacks’ prospect development under Hazen, however, has been their pitching development, according to MLB Pipeline’s blurb on the club.
What would be interesting with a potential Hazen-Red Sox reunion is that in addition to his own time with the Diamondbacks, he had experience working under Dombrowski, Ben Cherington, and Theo Epstein during his time in Boston. That means that Hazen has experience with a number of different approaches and edicts from ownership when it comes to building a team, be it through drafting and developing, big trades, or big-money signings.
Hazen will be just one of many names that’ll be bandied about in the days and weeks that’ll follow Bloom’s dismissal, of course. But if this first report is any indication, Henry & Co. may have already found their favorite.
