5 MLB front office shakeups that could happen in 2022
By Bill Felber
3. Arizona Diamondbacks
Mike Hazen was named executive vice president and general manager of the Diamondbacks following the 2016 season, coming over from a similar position with the Boston Red Sox. Hazen serves under president and CEO Derrick Hall.
The problem is that the D-Backs don’t appear to be going anywhere productive under Hazen. They have made one playoff appearance with him as GM, that coming in his first season, 2017. It lasted three games, the time it took the Dodgers to sweep them.
In Hazen’s tenure, Arizona is 393-438, a .473 percentage. They lost 110 games last season and are on pace to lose close to 90 more this year. That may or may not be good enough to keep them out of last place in the NL West for a third straight season.
Analytically, the problem is that Hazen’s deals haven’t helped. As measured by Wins Above Average, the sum total of his personnel moves since 2017 has damaged Arizona’s performance annually since 2017 to an average of about three games per season in the first year and three more games in ensuing seasons.
That means the division powerhouse Dodgers are steadily receding from view on the baseball horizon.
Hazen signed what was described as a “multi-year extension” with the Diamondbacks in September of 2019, but that only means he’s squarely in peril. If he survives, it will likely only be because Hall blames somebody other than Hazen for the team’s failures, but the data suggests Hazen is at least part of the problem.