Grady Sizemore Paid $15-an-Hour at D-Backs Internship in 2023; Was 3x MLB All-Star

Former three-time MLB All-Star Grady Sizemore had to work his way up to get back to the big leagues as a coach.

Per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, Sizemore spent the 2023 season working as an intern for the Arizona Diamondbacks earning $15 per hour.

Sizemore's work with the D-Backs included working with outfielders and baserunners at their training complex. He also visited their minor-league affiliates.

"He did a great job, which we all expected," said Josh Barfield, who was working as director of player development for the Diamondbacks at the time. "And at the end of the year he said, 'Man, I really, really enjoyed this.' He was ready to take that next step."

Barfield and Sizemore knew each other from their time as teammates with Cleveland from 2007 to '09.

Rosenthal noted Sizemore approached Barfield about a job with the Diamondbacks prior to the 2023 season, but they were already at their "head-count limit" when the idea of him working as an intern was given to general manager Mike Hazen.

"Josh was like, 'What if we do this?'" Hazen said. "And I was like, 'He'd really do that?'"

Sizemore earned $31.06 million during his playing career from 2004 to '15. He had a four-year run as one of the best players in MLB from 2005 to '08 with Cleveland, finishing in the top 12 of AL MVP voting in all four seasons.

Injuries ended Sizemore's run as a superstar player in 2009, and his career ended in 2015 when he was 32 years old. He did spend the 2017 season working in Cleveland's front office as an advisor to the team's player development department, but left after one season.

The work Sizemore did for the Diamondbacks apparently made a strong impression on Barfield, who was hired as assistant general manager for the Chicago White Sox in September 2023.

The White Sox hired Sizemore to join their manager Pedro Grifol's coaching staff in November. He's expected to work with outfielders and help coach baserunning.