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The Dodgers have made an addition to their front office, hiring Roy Clark away from the Nationals per Keith Law of ESPN. Clark was assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel in Washington for the last four years.
The Dodgers announced the hire on Wednesday. Clark will serve as a national crosschecker, evaluating amateur talent throughout the United States as well as Dodgers minor leaguers.
“Roy is an excellent talent evaluator and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Dodgers,” said Dodgers head of amateur scouting Logan White. “He’s a terrific addition and I’m looking forward to teaming him with Paul Fryer and John Green as National Crosscheckers.”
Clark, 56, worked with Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten in both Atlanta and Washington. He spent 21 years with the Braves, including serving as scouting director from 1999-2009, in charge of Atlanta's drafts. Among the talent he added to the Braves was Brian McCann, Adam Wainwright, Jayson Heyward, Adam LaRoche, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Kevin Millwood and Jeff Francoeur.
After the Nationals made the playoffs in 2012, Clark likened Washington to the Braves in 1991, making the first of their 14 playoff appearances in 15 years, per the Roanoke Times:
"This year at Washington reminds me so much of 1991, that first year when we made that run in Atlanta. Hopefully we can sustain it here like we did there," said Clark. "They did pretty much the same thing that we did in Atlanta, and that is build the system through a strong scouting and player development system."
Clark played shortstop at Martinsville High School in Virginia alongside second baseman Lou Whitaker, who went on to play 19 seasons in MLB, all with the Tigers.
The Mariners drafted Clark in the 24th round in 1979, and he spent four years as a minor league infielder, mostly at second base, before retiring as a player after the 1982 season. Clark was a minor league coach with Seattle in 1984 and served as an area scout for them in 1985-1986. He also worked as an area scout with the Indians in 1988-1989 before Kasten hired Clark in Atlanta.