Dodgers Rumors: Gabe Kapler, Billy Gasparino To Be Hired
I've heard the #Dodgers will also hire Galen Carr, a special assignment scout for the Red Sox
— Mark Saxon (@markasaxon) November 7, 2014
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The Los Angeles Dodgers have been busy this offseason assembling a brand new front office around their new president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman.
Friedman was hired away from the Tampa Bay Rays and immediately got to work to fill the rest of the positions. Ned Colletti was moved to senior advisor, while Logan White went to the San Diego Padres. The team then announced the hiring of Farhan Zaidi and Josh Byrnes as general manager and senior vice president of baseball operations, respectively.
According to Mark Saxon of ESPN LA, the Dodgers plan to hire two more new faces in the front office:
Source: #Dodgers will name Gabe Kapler farm director, Billy Casparino amateur scouting director
— Mark Saxon (@markasaxon) November 7, 2014
Kapler is a former MLB player that spent 12 seasons in the big leagues with six different teams. He signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers in 2011, but did not make the team out of spring training. The former outfielder is an analyst for Fox Sports 1 and is known for his affection of sabermetrics. Gasparino is heading over from the Padres, where he worked as a national crosschecker before becoming director of scouting. Prior to working in San Diego, he also worked for the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians.
Both men were linked to the Dodgers in the past week and were expected to head to Los Angeles and join Friedman, Zaidi and Byrnes. While the Dodgers have yet to do anything to improve the team on the field, they have quietly assembled one of the more formidable front offices in recent memory. It comes as a complete change from previous seasons where Colletti, White and Stan Kasten were the big names.
There’s no telling whether these hires will get the Dodgers their first championship since 1988, but it’s a step in the right direction.