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In an offseason that will see improvements to Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers are making renovations to the infrastructure of their team as well. The Dodgers on Monday announced the hiring of six international scouts as well as others in the domestic scouting department.
Pedro Avila, Gene Grimaldi, Patrick Guerrero, Pat Kelly, Jamey Storvick and Mike Tosar were hired as international scouts, and will serve under new vice president of international scouting Bob Engle, who was hired on Nov. 1.
Avila will be coordinator of Venezuela operations, Grimaldi will be coordinator of European operations, Guerrero will be coordinator of Latin America, Kelly will be coordinator of the Pacific Rim, Storvick will be special assignment scout in the Pacific Rim and Tosar will be coordinator of Cuba and Mexico.
Guerrero had been with the Mariners since 2000, and Storvick was with Seattle since 1999, where both worked with Engle. Storvick was touted in a release by the team as the first American scout based in Taiwan.
Kelly, who played in the major leagues for nine seasons, was Pacific Rim Coordinator for the Dodgers from 2000-2005, and Grimaldi was an international scout for the Dodgers from 1990-2000. Both came from the Mariners, where they worked with Engle. See a trend here?
All six new international scouts worked with Engle in Seattle, including Avila, who has worked Venezuela for 16 years for the Blue Jays, Mariners, and Rangers. Tosar scouted for the Mariners from 2005-2010.
"The experience and international knowledge these scouts possess will benefit our organization immediately," said general manager Ned Colletti in a statement.
In addition to the international hires, the Dodgers added domestic pro scouts as well. Former major league pitcher Willie Fraser and Scott Groot were hired as scouts, and special assistant to GM Bill Mueller will become a full-time pro scout.
But even with the new position of Mueller, the Dodgers can still field a full softball team of special assistants as longtime catcher Josh Bard has been hired as a special assistant, player personnel.
Groot scouted with the Dodgers from 1998-2004, while Fraser scouted for the Angels since 2010. Bard caught for 10 seasons in the majors and was a non-roster invitee to spring training for the Dodgers in 2012. He hit .331/.355/.514 in 45 games for Triple A Albuquerque this season.
It has been a busy offseason for the Dodgers, who in addition to Engle have added Gerry Hunsicker and Pat Corrales to the front office since the season ended. It fits with the philosophy of Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten, who in October expressed a desire to surround himself with good people.
"Whatever good fortune I've had in my career has been the product of really good front offices," Kasten said. "I think we have one here as well, and we're going to be looking to add and make it better in whatever way that we can."