Dana Brown is fully aware of his unique stature among baseball’s top executives. In a career that has spanned over three decades of professional experience and five different franchises, Brown, 58, stands alone as MLB’s only African American general manager.
Brown follows in the footsteps of baseball giants – luminaries like Bill Lucas, who in 1976 became the first Black GM in baseball history. Braves owner Ted Turner officially listed himself as the GM and gave the title of vice president of player personnel to Lucas. Still, everyone knew who was really making the player decisions, and history has treated Lucas accordingly. Lucas oversaw the Braves’ personnel decisions until his sudden death in 1979 at age 43. After Lucas came another history-maker, Bob Watson. Watson was named GM of the Astros in 1993 and was later hired by the Yankees, where he became the first African American GM to win the World Series in 1996.
While some of you may not remember Lucas or Watson, most current baseball fans will recognize the name Kenny Williams. Williams was a true tour de force on the south side of Chicago, serving as the White Sox GM from 2000 to 2012. Williams hired Jerry Manuel as the manager of the White Sox in 1998, making Williams and Manuel the first African American GM and manager duo in baseball history. Williams won the World Series in 2005 and was promoted to executive vice president, while assistant GM Rick Hahn was promoted to GM. Unlike the GMs before him, Williams was more visible and outspoken, often getting his quotes in local news outlets and even national media. It is these men: Lucas, Watson, and Williams – along with Dave Stewart (former GM of the Diamondbacks), Michael Hill (former GM of the Marlins), and Tony Reagins (former GM of the Angels), who Brown follows into baseball history, and he doesn’t take that for granted.
I briefly spoke with Dana Brown at the Astros’ spring training facility before the start of the 2025 regular season, and he credited former Commissioner Bud Selig and current Commissioner Rob Manfred for their commitment to promoting diversity within the franchise’s front offices. Brown called himself a product of Bud Selig’s initiatives. Listening to Brown and understanding that the opportunity to be a GM in baseball is scarce and sacred. I would be remiss if I did not mention my grave concern that programs and initiatives that promote diversity are disappearing in the wake of looming pressures from the Trump administration.
So, who follows Dana Brown? Who will be the next African American general manager in Major League Baseball? As I write this, the Orioles and Red Sox appear to be looking for their next GMs. I’ve asked people in my baseball circle about who could be up next, and the following are some of the leading candidates.
LEADERS READY FOR THE CHALLENGE:
Kevan Graves – Assistant GM – Pittsburgh Pirates
Graves was named assistant GM in 2016 and has been with the Pirates since 2008. He served as the Pirates’ interim general manager in 2019. The Dartmouth graduate, 44, was considered for the GM role of the Pirates and Giants in 2019. It has been reported that Graves is an expert in rules and regulations. He has also assisted the Pirates with roster management, player evaluation, contract negotiations, rules compliance, financial planning, staff recruitment, and the development of entry-level staff. He is a rising star within the baseball community. I’m told that Graves is destined for the next step.
Josh Barfield – Assistant GM – Chicago White Sox
Barfield made waves earlier this month when it was reported that the Orioles were interested in him for their general manager position. The O’s situation is different but not unique in the current MLB front office landscape. Mike Elias was the O’s previous general manager. He was promoted to president of baseball operations and will hire a GM to work under him. So, yes, the O’s are looking for a GM, but that hire will work under Elias. Barfield, 42, was considered for that role. However, it was reported that he is currently staying in Chicago. Barfield came to the White Sox in 2023. Before that, he spent nine seasons with the Diamondbacks, advancing to the position of director of player development. Barfield played a significant front office role in the team’s run to the 2023 World Series. Like Graves, Barfield’s ascension to a GM job seems to be warranted, but as those who came before can attest, qualifications are only part of getting the nod. Everything must line up perfectly. Timing and fit usually surpass qualifications.
Gavin Dickey – Assistant GM – Houston Astros
Dickey was promoted to assistant general manager in November 2023 after spending the 2023 season as special assistant to the general manager. 2025 is his second season as an assistant general manager. In his current role, he oversees player development, player personnel, minor league operations, and performance science. Dickey started his front office career as a scout for the Astros in 2011. He is now one of the longest tenured members of the Astros’ operations staff. Dickey turns 42 later this month. He has worked for and with several GMs. Dana Brown made it clear to me back in spring training that Dickey’s experience is very similar to his and that an opportunity should come his way before his career is over.
James Harris III – Assistant GM – Cleveland Guardians
If Harris gets tapped to be a general manager in Major League Baseball, it will complete one of the league’s most improbable journeys. While Harris’s route is unusual, the accomplishment will be well deserved and appropriate. He originally came from football, where he served in several capacities, most notably as chief of staff to then-Eagles Head Coach Chip Kelly. Harris entered baseball in 2016 as special assistant to baseball operations for the Pirates. He was hired by the Guardians later that year as the team’s director of player development. He was promoted to assistant GM in December 2021. It has been reported that Harris has previously interviewed for a few GM jobs, including the Cubs and Astros. Cleveland is known throughout MLB as a model franchise. A lot of clubs hire the Guardians personnel.
Peter Woodfork – Senior Vice President, Minor League Operations & Development – MLB
Woodfork, 49, currently oversees the operation of MLB’s player development system, including relationships with licensed affiliates, partner leagues, and the player development departments of MLB’s 30 clubs. Woodfork joined MLB in 2011 and had previously overseen MLB’s umpiring department. He spent five years with the Arizona Diamondbacks as assistant general manager and three years with the Boston Red Sox as director of baseball operations, including during their historic 2004 World Series Championship season. Woodfork’s name has been mentioned for a few GM jobs in recent years. He is praised in baseball circles for his innovation and energy. There is much made of the MLB’s Ivy League pipeline. Woodfork is a 1999 graduate of Harvard, where he started as an infielder on the Crimson baseball team, which won three Ivy League titles in his four seasons.
EXPERIENCE YOU CAN’T TEACH:
Michael Hill – Senior Vice President of On-Field Operations & Workforce Development – MLB
Hill is a baseball lifer and one of the seven Black men to have previously served as a general manager in MLB. He spent nearly 20 years in the Marlins organization. Hill was named GM of the Marlins in 2007 and president of baseball operations in 2014. Hill, 54, was hired by MLB HQ in 2021. Last year, he was promoted to senior VP of on-field operations and workforce development. He has also been named the general manager of the 2026 USA World Baseball Classic team.
Billy Owens – Assistant GM & Director of Player Personnel – Athletics
Owens is known as one of baseball’s best talent scouts. He has been with the Athletics organization for over 25 years. He has witnessed a great deal in the game and navigated numerous changes within the sport. Owens, 54, started with the Athletics as a minor league hitting coach and then moved to the scouting department. In 2010, he was named director of player personnel. The A’s added assistant GM to Owens’ résumé in 2015. His name was mentioned last year as a possible GM candidate for the Giants under Buster Posey. He has the reputation of being able to connect with anyone. When asked about a possible Owens departure, A’s GM David Forst told the SF Chronicle, “I think the world of Billy Owens and what he brings to this organization,” he said. “I’m privileged to have him here as long as we have. We’re lucky to have him.”
De Jon Watson – Special Assignment – Houston Astros
Hiring Bob Watson and Dana Brown as general managers is proof that the Astros have embraced hiring practices that should be emulated throughout MLB. I’ve already highlighted assistant GM Gavin Dickey as a qualified candidate to be a general manager. De Jon Watson. Watson, 59, joined the Astros in 2023. Before that, he served as the director of player development for the Nationals. Watson started his operations career as a scout for the Marlins in the late nineties. He has worked for the Reds, Cleveland, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Nationals before landing in Houston. Watson has a tremendous reputation throughout the league.
Danny Montgomery – Vice President and Assistant General Manager for Scouting – Rockies
Montgomery has been with the Rockies since the club’s original hires in 1991. He is one of the most respected people within the organization and throughout baseball. He is widely considered one of the best talent scouts in the game. The Rockies rewarded his talent and consistency with his latest role in 2021. Montgomery clearly has the experience for the player assessment side of the job. Does he have the desire to do the many other things required of a GM in this climate? Is that quality of life change worth it for a leader of Montgomery’s stature?
Tyrone Brooks – Sr. Director, Front Office and Field Staff Diversity Pipeline – MLB
Brooks, a baseball lifer, has interviewed for a couple of GM jobs in the past. He joined the Commissioner’s office in 2016. Before that, he spent nearly three decades in professional baseball, starting in 1996 with the Atlanta Braves. He worked his way up in the Braves organization to director of baseball administration. Brooks had multiyear stints in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, where he served as director of baseball operations and director of player personnel. Brooks is making a significant impact in the Commissioner’s office, where he oversees programs dedicated to promoting diversity within the front offices of every MLB club. Brooks is a tireless worker. Brooks is a tireless worker. He often crisscrosses the country to present the idea of working in baseball to young men and women who have never been exposed to the possibility.
A LITTLE OUTSIDE OF THE BOX:
LaTroy Hawkins – Special Assistant, Baseball Operations – Twins
I consider Hawkins, 52, a wild card because, unlike most people who ultimately end up in GM jobs, Hawkins played 21 seasons in the BIGS, with 11 different teams. He joined the Twins front office in 2016. He has not spent a lifetime in the scouting department, but I’m told Hawkins possesses the operational skill set to end up in a GM role. He understands both the newer analytical side of operations and the traditional scouting side. He’s done a little bit of everything for the Twins. And Hawkins possesses the ability to teach the game in a way that is digestible to players in the organization. With that, I’m sure no GM will do much, if any, direct coaching, but having the skill set allows Hawkins to make better hires on the development side of the game.
CC Sabathia – Special Assistant to the Commissioner, MLB – Players Alliance Founding Board Member – HOF 2025
There is the CC Sabathia that most people have seen over the years and have grown to love, especially in Cleveland, Milwaukee, and New York. The larger-than-life lefty, known for his competitive edge, million-dollar smile, bombastic laugh, and gravitational presence. That Sabathia hurled his way into the Hall of Fame earlier this year. However, those closely associated with Sabathia will tell you that he can analyze players at the level of advanced front office executives. He knows situational baseball as well as any coach. He knows how to communicate with this generation of players. I’m sure it helps that his son has gone through the rigors of high school recruiting, college baseball, and even the transfer portal in this modern climate. Sabathia’s knowledge of the game goes beyond that of the normal player turned analyst. His energy, creativity, and willingness to innovate may be what a stagnant MLB club needs to jump-start a winning culture.
A MATTER OF TIME?
When pondering who could be the next African American general manager in MLB, I used to believe that it wasn’t a matter of if, but when, and, of course, who. However, as I examine the current social and political climate within baseball, and more importantly, outside of baseball, I wonder who will survive long enough and put together all the pieces needed, to have an opportunity for consideration. I ask myself, what owner or leadership group has the foresight and courage to break the mold once again and move the ball forward? I know the Astros have it in their DNA. They’ve done it twice already. Black baseball fans should view the Astros organization in the same light as they do the Brooklyn Dodgers. The White Sox once had it. Do they still? What about the Giants? It was reported that Buster Posey had an interest in some of the candidates written about in this article. Becoming the eighth African American to have the title of general manager is going to require more savvy today than ever before. And that person will still need a lot of divine blessings to ascend to the pinnacle job in baseball operations.
I would not describe myself as optimistic about when the next African American general manager will be hired. There is a part of me that wonders if I will witness it again in my lifetime. I know there are several more than-qualified African American candidates. And, as I write this article, at least two MLB clubs are searching for a general manager. There will probably be more in the coming days. But who will be the next guy tapped? And, yes, it is not lost on me that there are no women on my list. And that’s a problem. Entering the 2025 season, there were 14 women in general manager positions in Minor League Baseball. By my research, there is only one African American general manager in Minor League Baseball (Harold Craw, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp).
American history has proven that breaking racial barriers connected to hiring is one of the most difficult challenges on the road to equality. The path is not linear, regardless of the professional field. In MLB, it takes allies because there are no African American owners. It takes courage. And it takes the perfect fit for the candidate and the franchise. No one within baseball can be satisfied with the current state of affairs. I hope that in the days ahead, more African American executives are invited to compete for these coveted GM positions. I write this with complete understanding that any African American who is interviewed to be a general manager in MLB is already fully qualified. This is not a matter of qualifications. This is a matter of preparation – meeting opportunity at the right time and place.
Author Note: I spoke with numerous contacts for this column and conducted extensive research. I must give a special shout-out to Bill Ladson and Bob Nightengale. I’ve never met either of these men, but when I say they cover a lot of ground in MLB media, I’m not telling you the half. Their articles kept coming up in my research. They are prolific and tremendous journalists.
Cheats (Marc Cheatham) is the founder of the Black Baseball Mixtape. You can finish your breakfast with him every day on IG @BlackBaseballMixtape. He also has a lot of baseball fitted hats (New Era Fifty Nine Fifty, and autograph cards.
