Jays new GM overhauling front office

The winds of change are starting to blow in the Toronto Blue Jays front office.

Alex Anthopoulos has been busy putting his stamp in the front office since taking over from the fired J.P. Riccardi earlier this month, .

The latest move happened Tuesday when he hired Dana Brown to serve as a special assistant to the general manager. Brown has been the Washinton Nationals director of amateur scouting since the club moved from Montreal.

In his other moves, Anthopoulos moved assistant GM Tony LaCava into the player development department and also promoted Andrew Tinnish to the role of director of amateur scouting.

Charlie Wilson is now a director of minor league operations, while Doug Davis is now the minor league field coordinator.

Rounding out the moves is Perry Minasian, who became the new director of pro scouting.

“This area was No. 1 on my list,” Anthopoulos told reporters during a conference call, adding these departments were areas the team lacked in over recent seasons.

“One third of an organization’s players are acquired in the draft while two-thirds were scouted as pros, acquired either in trades or as free-agent signings,” he said. “It’s the right move going forward.”

The new GM wants the organization to “push the envelope” and surround himself with the best staff in the big leagues.

“We want to never stop growing,” he said. “There will be activity going forward. It’s not a sprint.”

Anthopoulos also had to fire three men — long-time farm director Dick Scott, Triple-A Las Vegas manager Mike Basso, and Pacific Rim coordinator and former Jay Rob Ducey.

In the conference call he told reporters the club will focus their efforts on Latin America, pro and amateur scouting.

“We may bring in more people,” he said. “Pro scouting is very important to this organization.”

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By: Jim Humphrey
Posted: Oct 13 2009 6:20 pm
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