Diamondbacks hire veteran executive Jason McLeod as special assistant

The Diamondbacks have named former Cubs, Padres and Red Sox executive Jason McLeod a special assistant to general manager Mike Hazen, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). McLeod’s contract with the Cubs expired at the end of the 2021 season.

A move to Arizona for McLeod is in some ways natural, as both he and Hazen have roots in the Red Sox organization. McLeod and Hazen worked together in Boston from 2006-09, when Hazen was the team’s director of player development. However, McLeod jumped to the Padres in 2009 when Jed Hoyer was named GM in San Diego, and he reunited with Hoyer and president Theo Epstein (formerly the GM in Boston) when the Epstein/Hoyer regime took the reins in the Cubs’ front office.

With the Cubs, McLeod served as a vice president overseeing player development, amateur scouting and player personnel at various points (though not all simultaneously). In addition to Hazen, McLeod is no stranger to D-backs assistant general manager Amiel Sawdaye, who was Boston’s assistant director of amateur scouting from 2005-09.

McLeod has previously been seen as a candidate for various general manager vacancies, interviewing with the Twins in 2016, with Mets in 2018, with the Giants in 2018 and with the Angels in 2020. McLeod was reportedly a finalist for that Halos vacancy, though the Angels eventually went with Perry Minasian as their new baseball ops leader. McLeod’s role with the D-backs is somewhat nebulous — as is often the case with special assistants of this nature; Rosenthal suggests he’ll contribute “in a variety of areas,” although as a special assistant, McLeod won’t oversee any one specific department like he did in Chicago.