Along with needing to address their pitching staff, which Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said is a focus this winter, the Dodgers have several vacancies throughout the organization to fill.
The manager’s job is of course the headliner, but the Dodgers are also without a head athletic trainer as Stan Conte resigned, an assistant athletic trainer due to Nancy Flynn Patterson also resigning, and an international scouting department that essentially was wiped clean in August.
As the Dodgers’ search for Don Mattingly’s replacement carries on, the club reportedly hired Toronto Blue Jays international scouting director Ismael Cruz, according to Jon Morosi of FOX Sports:
Sources: #Dodgers have hired international scouting executive Ismael Cruz away from #BlueJays.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 9, 2015
Cruz joined the Blue Jays in 2011 and has been instrumental in the organization identifying and signing international talent; he played a leading role in the signing on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. this past July.
Prior to joining Toronto, Cruz worked as the international scouting director for the New York Mets from 2007-11. His duties with the Blue Jays also involved working as a special assistant to the general manager.
Cruz’s departure may be connected to the heralded Alex Anthopoulos leaving his post as Blue Jays GM one week after the American League East champions were eliminated from the postseason.
After hiring Friedman and Farhan Zaidi as general manager last year, Gabe Kapler (director of player development) and Billy Gasparino (scouting director) were among the other additions to the Dodgers organization.
