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The Dodgers on Thursday made official their hire of longtime scout Bob Engle as vice president of international scouting. Engle held the same position with the Mariners since 2004, and has been in baseball since 1974.
"Bob Engle and his knowledge of the international landscape is a great addition to our scouting team," general manager Ned Colletti said in a statement. "Our new ownership’s directive is to strengthen the Dodgers’ scouting, both domestically and internationally. Developing future players through heightened scouting is paramount to the long-term success of the Dodgers’ organization."
Engle announced last month that he would leave the Mariners once his contract expired on Oct. 31.
"This was a very tough decision for me," Engle said in a statement. "I have had a great time in Seattle and am proud to have served with so many fine people in the international department. I cannot thank the scouts and field personnel enough for their dedication and hard work.
The hiring of Engle coincides with the hire of Patrick Guerrero as Latin American coordinator, which was reported by Baseball America on Saturday but hasn't yet been officially announced by the team. Guerrero and Engle worked together with the Mariners since 2000. The two hires join Gerry Hunsicker, who was hired on Oct. 18 as a senior advisor of baseball operations.
"In the late '70s when I was starting my career, the Dodgers were arguably the envy of all of baseball. When I scouted, I recall being with Dodgers scouts and hearing them talk about how great the organization is and they felt they were all part of one big family and ownership really cared about them," Hunsicker told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. "They were the first to offer scouts retirement plans. Then their historical success and the image, it's well documented. Stan [Kasten]'s commitment to have the Dodgers regain that prominence, it's just an exciting opportunity."
Engle has worked for the Orioles, Blue Jays, and Mariners in his career, and played a key role in the scouting and signing of four Cy Young Award winners: Pat Hentgen, Roy Halladay, and Chris Carpenter for Toronto; and Felix Hernandez for Seattle.