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Boston Red Sox to promote Mike Hazen to GM position

By Sean Penney

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The Boston Red Sox are expected to fill their open general manager position from within by promoting assistant GM Mike Hazen, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

Hazen will report directly to new president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, while filling the role vacated by the departing Ben Cherington. His official title will become senior vice president and general manager.

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The Red Sox front office has gone through a whirlwind of changes this season, which began with CEO Larry Lucchino announcing that he would be stepping down from his position, resulting in the hiring of Dombrowski. Cherington was given the opportunity to stay in his GM position, but he declined to work under Dombrowski.

Had Cherington stayed it would have meant surrendering most of his authority to Dombrowski, who now has final say over all personnel decisions. While that would be akin to a demotion for Cherington, it represents the opportunity for a step up for Hazen, who has been vying for a GM job.

Hazen, 39, joined the Red Sox in 2006. He originally stepped into the assistant GM role in 2011 when Cherington replaced Theo Epstein in the GM role. Prior to that he had served as the vice president of player development and scouting, which came after spending five years as the director of player development.

"“Over his 10 years with the Red Sox, Mike has proven to be an invaluable member of the baseball operations department,” Dombrowski said in a statement, per WEEI.com. “We are thrilled to have him in this position and I’m excited to have him working with me on every aspect of baseball operations.”"

Dombrowski was rumored to be considering several candidates from outside the organization, with names like Frank Wren and Quinton McCracken being tossed around. While some saw this as an opportunity for Dombrowski to clean house, the promotion of Hazen suggests that most of the front office staff will remain.

Hazen is widely considered to be a deserving candidate, but staying internal also helps the Red Sox keep some continuity between the old regime and the new. Hazen’s familiarity with the system makes him a valuable resource for Dombrowski to lean on.

A native of Abington, Hazen continues the franchise’s trend of full-time general managers hailing from the New England area. He will become the sixth homegrown Red Sox GM since 1984.

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