PHOENIX - The Arizona Diamondbacks' Baseball Operations department announced a series of staff changes, including promotions, new hires and newly-created positions.
The D-backs have 4 front office promotions. Burke Badenhop was promoted to Special Assistant to the General Manager for his second season with the D-backs after working in the newly-created Analyst role in 2017. Peter Wardell was promoted to Assistant Director, International Scouting for his sixth season with the organization after a season as the Coordinator, International Scouting. Ian Rebhan has been promoted to Coordinator, Amateur Scouting for his fourth season with the club after spending 2017 as an Area Scout (AZ, CO, NM, NV, UT, WY), his first season as an area scout. Cory Swope was promoted to Coordinator, Minor League Video for his third season in the organization after 2 seasons as a Minor League Video Assistant.
The D-backs have 4 front office new hires. Jason Parks joins the organization as the Director, Professional Scouting. He was with the Chicago Cubs from September 2014-November 2017, serving as a Professional/Amateur Scout (September 2014-February 2017) and a Special Assistant to the President/GM (February-November 2017), and was also with Baseball Prospectus as a National Prospect writer from April 2010-August 2014. Robert Van Scoyoc will serve in the newly-created Hitting Strategist role. He spent the 2016-17 seasons as a hitting consultant for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has worked as a private hitting instructor at Elevated Performance in Valencia, Calif. since 2014. He has also worked with Major League hitters as a private hitting instructor since 2011. Max Phillips enters his first season as Analyst, Baseball Operations Research & Development, after working as a D-backs intern in 2017. Alex Lorenzo will serve as the newly-created Diversity Pipeline Fellow, after working as an intern for the D-backs in 2017.
The D-backs have 4 newly-created positions in various areas beyond the front office, 2 hired externally and 2 filled internally. Daniel Bard joins the organization in the Player Mentor role. He played 5 seasons for the Boston Red Sox (2009-13), appearing in 211 games (10 starts) with a 10-19 record and 3.67 ERA, during his 10-year professional career (2007-14, '16-'17). He was the Red Sox' first-round draft pick (No. 26 overall) in the 2006 draft, out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kelvin Kondo will work as an Interpreter for Yoshihisa Hirano in his sixth season with the D-backs, transitioning over after 5 seasons as an International Scout in Brazil. Jeff Mousser will serve as the National Pitching Supervisor role in Amateur Scouting for his 11th season with the organization, following roles as an amateur scout, scouting supervisor and assistant director. Junko Yazawa will serve as Major League Manual Therapist/Athletic Trainer. She is a native of Nagoya, Japan but resides in Scottsdale, Ariz. She was a manual therapist for Team USA during the 2017 World Baseball Classic. She also has experience as a trainer for Team USA Track & Field at the 2007 World Championships (Osaka, Japan), 2013 World Championships (Moscow, Russia), 2015 World Championships (Beijing, China), 2016 Olympic Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and 2017 World Championships (London, England).
The D-backs have 1 promotion in Major League & Professional Scouting. Bill "Chief" Gayton has been promoted to Major League Scout for his seventh season in the organization, having spent the past 6 as a Professional Scout.
The D-backs have 5 new hires in Major League & Professional Scouting. Alex Jacobs joins the organization as a Special Assignment Scout, having worked for the Houston Astros from December 2012-September 2017 as a Professional Scout as well as with Team Israel in 2016-17 as the Director, Player Personnel. Tucker Blair will serve as a Professional Scout, after 2 seasons (2016-17) with the Houston Astros as a Professional Scout. He also worked for Baseball Prospectus as a Prospect Writer from October 2013-October 2015. Jack Goin will work as a Professional Scout, having spent parts of 9 seasons with the Minnesota Twins, most recently as Director, Baseball Research in 2016-17. Drew Hedman will serve as a Professional Scout after spending the last 2 years with The Headfirst Companies as Manager, Honor Roll Camps. He also worked in the Washington Nationals' Baseball Operations Department in 2015 and at Vanderbilt University as an Assistant Baseball Coach from August 2013-August 2014. Gaby Hernandez will work as a Scout Ahead Professional Scout, following 14 seasons playing in the Minor Leagues, Independent Leagues and various foreign leagues.
The D-backs have 4 new hires in Amateur Scouting. Hudson Belinsky will be an Area Scout in Georgia and joins the organization from Baseball America. Mark Ross will be an Area Scout in Four Corners, joining the organization from Houston, where he worked in various scouting capacities since 2002. Garry Templeton II will serve as an Area Scout in Southern California in his third season with the organization, having worked 2 seasons in the Scout Ahead Program. Jeremy Kehrt will work as an Area Scout in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio, after spending the past 10 seasons playing in the Minor Leagues, Independent Leagues and Foreign Leagues.
The D-backs have 2 promotions in International Scouting & Latin Operations. Francisco Cartaya was promoted to Crosschecker, Latin America for his third season with the organization and 23rd in baseball. This is his second stint with the D-backs having originally signed in 1996 as one of the organization's first Venezuelan players. Mariana Patraca was promoted to Assistant, Latin Operations for her third season with the D-backs.
The D-backs have 6 new hires in International Scouting & Latin Operations. Antonio Caballero will serve as a Scouting Supervisor in Venezuela. Omar Rogers will work as a Scouting Coordinator in the Dominican Republic. Ronald Rivas will serve as a Scout in the Dominican Republic. Diego Bordas will work as a Scout and Video Coordinator in the Dominican Republic. David Chicarelli will work as a Scout in Venezuela. Gregory Blanco will serve as a Scout in Venezuela.
The D-Backs have 6 additional hires in player development since last reported; 3 coaches and 3 medical staff. Jonny Gomes will serve as Hitting Coach for the Rookie AZL D-backs. Gomes played 13 seasons in the Major Leagues from 2003-15 with the Tampa Bay Rays (2003-08), Cincinnati Reds (2009-2011), Washington Nationals (2011), Oakland A's (2012), Boston Red Sox (2013-14), Oakland A's (2014), Atlanta Braves (2015) and Kansas City Royals (2015). He appeared in 1,203 games, hitting .242 with 157 doubles, 14 triples, 162 homers and 526 RBI. Rafael Ozuna will serve as Manager for the Rookie DSL D-backs, after serving as a coach for the Los Angeles' Dodgers Single-A Advanced affiliate in Rancho Cucamonga form 2015-17. He played parts of 10 seasons in the Minor Leagues, Independent Leagues and Italian Baseball League. Alvin Alcántara will be the Pitching Coach for the Rookie DSL D-backs, after serving as a pitching coach for the Miami Marlins Rookie DSL Marlins from 2011-17. Damon Reel will serve as the trainer for Rookie-Advanced Missoula. Phil Montano will work as the trainer for the Rookie AZL D-backs. Logan Jones will be the strength coach for the Rookie AZL D-backs.