The man who built the Diamondbacks, Mike Hazen
The conversation regarding the next head of baseball operations gained some steam Friday with a report from MassLive.com that multiple potential candidates were wary of taking the job.
Too much turnover in the position. Not being able to pick their own manager. Those were listed as some of the concerns, according to the report, percolating throughout some corners of baseball.
But the reason for one prominent candidate's declining of an interview did not fall under the umbrella of those worried about the aforementioned elements of the job.
Former Rangers President of Baseball Operations Jon Daniels has decided not to proceed in the process due to the desire to keep his family - which includes his wife and three children - rooted in Texas.
A source familiar with Daniels' way of thinking said the longtime Rangers executive - who was let go by Texas in August 2022 after becoming Major League Baseball's youngest-ever general manager in 2005 - said the decision not to accept the Red Sox' offer to interview was solely due the desire to prioritize his family.
Daniels, the source said, was initially excited about all that went with the job, having had a relationship with manager Alex Cora as well as currently holdovers in the Sox' front office. While some candidates may have been wary of the current situation, the 46-year-old was excited to potentially run an organization that "checks off a lot of boxes" both on the major league and minor league levels one of the game's bigger markets.
The former Texas executive had always appeared to be a logical candidate considering his experience in having success with the major league team through a strong farm system and impactful free agent signings, and trades. And while the Rangers' spot in the standings had taken a downturn in the years leading up to his dismissal, the majority of the current team in the American League Championship Series was secured during Daniels' tenure.
Daniels has spent the last season serving as a senior advisor or the Tampa Bay Rays' baseball operations department.
More than a few big league sources believe that while some current baseball operations bosses throughout baseball will prefer to remain in their current positions, there still won't be a shortage of candidates for the Red Sox to draw from.
In the MassLive.com report, former Marlins executive Michael Hill was identified as someone of interest, with the revelation that current assistant GM Eddie Romero had gone through the interview process. (Alex Speier reported that more internal candidates will be interviewing.)
Sources have confirmed team president Sam Kennedy's declaration that hiring process would be more methodical than in 2019, when the Red Sox quickly decided on Chaim Bloom.