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LOS ANGELES -- Former major league outfielder Luis Matos was officially announced on Thursday as manager of the Great Lakes Loons, the Dodgers' Class-A affiliate in the Midwest League.
Matos replaces Bill Haselman, who moved from Great Lakes to manage Advanced Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Feb. 2 when P.J. Forbes resigned for personal reasons. The full game of musical chairs hasn't been concluded just yet, as Matos was originally hired in December as the nebulous fourth coach in Great Lakes.
The Dodgers have yet to name a replacement for Matos in that extra coaching role with the Loons.
At 36, Matos is the youngest manager in the Dodgers' system. This is his first year of coaching in the minor leagues, after serving as hitting coach for Criollos de Caguas in the Puerto Rican Winter League this winter and as a coach in the inaugural Puerto Rico Youth Summer League in 2014.
"It was a surprise, because this was going to be my first year coaching (in the U.S.), but when they asked if I wanted to manage how could I say no?" Matos said in a press release. "It’s a challenge and I like that."
Matos played for seven years in the majors with the Orioles and Nationals, and was a teammate of his new hitting coach Jay Gibbons in Baltimore from 2001-2006.
The two first-year coaches are joined by pitching coach Glenn Dishman, who is in his 11th season coaching in the Dodgers' system. Dishman moves to Great Lakes after four years as pitching coach in Triple-A Albuquerque.
Great Lakes opens their season at home on April 9, against Fort Wayne.