According to multiple industry sources, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein will have some familiar members of his baseball operations staff once he joins the Cubs. Epstein is expected to be named something along the lines of president of baseball operations, with Padres GM Jed Hoyer – who worked with Epstein and the Sox from 2002-09, rising from the position of intern to Assistant GM — leaving San Diego to become general manager of the Cubs. As first reported by FoxSports.com, those sources also confirm that Padres Assistant GM Jason McLeod, formerly the director of amateur scouting in Boston, is expected to go to Chicago in a senior management position in baseball operations.

With two of his most trusted evaluators from Boston joining him in Chicago, Epstein will have a familiar operating environment. Given the success of the Red Sox in building their farm system under Epstein and the Padres’ similar success in doing so in two years under Hoyer (with McLeod playing key roles for both GMs in those cities), it will be interesting to see if the Cubs find it easier to compromise in negotiations with the Sox about compensation for Epstein’s departure.

After all, some of the most discussed names in a potential deal are viewed as solid but not exceptional prospects. For instance, Brett Jackson — who is reportedly off limits — has the sort of well-rounded skill set and ceiling as a player like Ryan Kalish who is already in the Red Sox system. One scout referred to right-hander Trey McNutt, who has reportedly has become subject to something of a tug-of-war between the Sox and Cubs in talks, as “Kyle Weiland with more velocity,” meaning a pitcher who might be a back-of-the-rotation starter or a late-innings reliever, but not someone who anchors a pitching staff.

The group of Epstein, Hoyer and McLeod would undoubtedly have its sights on creating a Chicago player development machine that would yield higher-impact prospects than those who have been discussed. As such, it will be interesting to see whether the Cubs and Red Sox will soon find it easier to reach agreement on the compensation agreement.

With Hoyer and McLeod leaving San Diego, Padres Vice President of Baseball Operations Josh Byrnes – formerly the Assistant GM in Boston under Epstein, and then the general manager in Arizona under current Padres owner Jeff Moorad — will become the GM of the Padres.

The Red Sox named Amiel Sawdaye the new director of amateur scouting, promoting him from the position of assistant director of amateur scouting, a capacity in which he served next to former director of amateur scouting Jason McLeod for the past five seasons. Sawdaye was originally hired by the Sox in June 2002, just before that draft.

When McLeod left Boston to become Assistant GM of the Padres last month, the Sox made clear that they wanted to find an internal replacement. Sawdaye, who helped McLeod to administer the draft during a period of tremendous success, was a natural candidate. Sawdaye suggests that his goal for the amateur scouting department is to continue to follow the formula that has proved tremendously successful under McLeod.

“We’re not changing much. We’re not reinventing the wheel,” Sawdaye said. “We have a really good system. We have really good processes in place. That’s why we’ve been successful, because of the processes and scouts we have out in the field. … It’s actually been a pretty seamless transition because of my relationship with all the scouts. Their understanding of what we do hasn’t changed.”

McLeod similarly suggested that Sawdaye understands the finer details of how the Sox approach to the draft, which is part of the reason why he will be able to continue what the department does.

“He was my assistant there for the last five years, so he has a very good understanding of the system that was put in place because he helped implement it. He knows all the processes. He has relationships with all the scouts,” said McLeod. “As far as the running of the department, I think it will be a pretty seamless transition with him stepping into the role.”

Sawdaye has already left a mark on one of the key changes in the Sox’ process of signing draftees, as it was his idea to create a Fenway invitational for the team’s draft picks, in which the Sox invite players whom they take in the draft to play against one another in Boston. In its two years, the invitational has been viewed by the organization as a significant success. It has given the Sox a chance to evaluate amateurs against comparable prospects (rather than against overmatched high-school opponents), and has also given the team a chance to meet draftees and their families.

“It’s been very successful, not only for the evaluative aspects of it. That first year we ran it in ’08, we didn’t get to see Pete Hissey or Derrik Gibson face much good pitching or much velocity. For us to see those kids, who we evaluated a lot, that was our chance to see them facing upper-80s and occasionally low-90s velocity. From an evaluative standpoint it helped,” said McLeod. “From a relationship-building standpoint and from an informative standpoint, to inform the families that this is what we’re about, this is what being a professional is about, those are hard to measure but they were truly helpful in the process of signing guys.”

Though he was hired initially as an administrator, Sawdaye has also been involved in evaluating several top draft picks in recent years. He was, first instance, involved in the evaluation of  2009 first-rounder Reymond Fuentes, helping to convince the organization that the outfielder could have more power potential than initially believed.

Sawdaye will have the opportunity to make his mark in his first draft. The free-agent departures of Billy Wagner and Jason Bay have left the Sox with the No. 20 overall pick (from the Braves for Wagner), the team’s highest since selecting David Murphy in the first-round in 2003, and with four high draft choices.

“There’s excitement not only in that, but for the fact that we’re going to get four picks in the top 60,” said Sawdaye. “We really have a chance to do some damage with that many picks so early.”

National cross-checker David Finley was also considered for the position, but he was instead promoted to the job of Special Assistant to GM Theo Epstein. Mike Rikard was promoted from East Coast cross-checker to National cross-checker. The Sox announced several baseball operations staff changes. Here is the complete release with details:

The Boston Red Sox today announced a series of personnel moves in the organization’s baseball operations department.

The announcements were made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein.

Major League Medical Staff
Mike Reinold has been promoted to Head Athletic Trainer and Assistant Director, Medical Services under Medical Director Dr. Thomas Gill.  Reinold has served as the club’s Assistant Athletic Trainer for the past four seasons, adding the title of Rehab Coordinator prior to the 2008 campaign.  Before joining the Red Sox, he spent six years as the Director of Rehab and Clinical Education at the American Sports Medicine Institute run by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, AL.  Reinold earned a degree in physical therapy from Northeastern University and holds a doctorate in physical therapy from the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions.  He is a certified Athletic Trainer and certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.

Additional changes within the Major League medical department include the promotion of Greg Barajas to Assistant Athletic Trainer.  Barajas has spent the last five seasons as athletic trainer for Boston’s Triple-A Pawtucket affiliate, earning International League Athletic Trainer of the Year honors in 2007.  He previously served as an athletic trainer in the Milwaukee Brewers organization from 1998-2004.  Barajas is a certified Athletic Trainer from the National Athletic Trainers Association and a certified Performance Enhancement Specialist from the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

Mitsugi Ito joins the Red Sox as a team Massage Therapist.  He previously served as Assistant Massage Therapist for the Seibu Lions.

Amateur Scouting
Amiel Sawdaye has been promoted to Director, Amateur Scouting.  He served as Boston’s Assistant Director, Amateur Scouting for the last five years after being named to the post in December of 2004.  A 1999 graduate of the University of Maryland, Sawdaye joined the Red Sox organization in 2002 as an intern in the scouting department and spent 2004 as the club’s scouting assistant.

David Finley has been promoted to Special Assistant to the General Manager after spending the past five years as the Red Sox National Crosschecker.  Finley joined the Boston organization as the West Coast Crosschecker prior to the 2002 season.  He has previously worked for the Padres and Marlins.

Mark Wasinger has been promoted to Special Assignment Scout.  Wasinger was the club’s West Crosschecker in 2009 and has spent six years overall as a regional crosschecker and one year as a professional scout with Boston.  He came to the Red Sox in November of 2002 after seven years as an area scout with San Diego.  A former Major League infielder, he played parts of three seasons with the Padres (1986) and Giants (1987-88).

Mike Rikard has been promoted to National Crosschecker.  He has spent the past five years as a regional crosschecker with the Red Sox and previously was a scout in the Padres organization.

Dan Madsen has been promoted to West Coast Crosschecker.  The former minor league outfielder spent the previous seven years as an area scout for the Red Sox in the Southern California/San Diego area.

Tom Battista joins the organization as an Area Scout in Southern California after serving as an area scout and West Coast Crosschecker for the Atlanta Braves for seven years.

Pat Portugal has been hired as an Area Scout in the Northwest.  Prior to joining the Red Sox he spent five years as an area scout with the Giants and four years as an area scout with the Cubs.

Sam Ray has been named an Area Scout in the Ohio Valley after spending the previous two seasons as an intern in the baseball operations department.

Demond Smith has been hired as an Area Scout in Northern California.  Prior to joining the Red Sox, the former outfielder played 17 seasons of professional baseball from 1990-2008 and spent time in the Mets (1990-93), Angels (1994-95), Athletics (1995-97), White Sox (1998) and Braves (1999-2000) organizations.

Jared Banner has been named Assistant, Amateur Scouting.  Banner joined the Red Sox organization as an intern in baseball operations in 2007 and served as Assistant, Player Development in 2008-09.

Major League Personnel
Alex Ochoa has been named Special Assistant, Baseball Operations.  He served as a Staff Assistant under Terry Francona last year, his first season as a professional coach after an eight-year Major League career with the Mets (1995-97), Twins (1998), Brewers (1999, 2002), Reds (2000-01), Rockies (2001) and Angels (2002).

Mike Cather has been promoted to Major League Advance Scout after spending the last four seasons as a pitching coach in the Red Sox organization for Single-A Wilmington (2006) and Double-A Portland (2007-09).  Cather played professionally from 1993-99 and appeared in 75 games for the Braves from 1997-99.

Steve Langone has been hired as the Advance Scouting Coordinator after interning in baseball operations in 2009.  A pitcher for seven professional seasons in the Dodgers (2000-04), Red Sox (2005) and Phillies (2006) organizations, Langone advanced as high as Triple-A in 2003.  He graduated from Boston College in 2000 and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2008.

Player Development
Ben Crockett has been promoted to Assistant Director, Player Development.  He joined the Red Sox organization as an intern in baseball operations in 2007 and served as Advance Scouting Coordinator from 2008-09.  Crockett was drafted by Colorado out of Harvard University in 2002 and is a veteran of five professional seasons (2002-06).

Ethan Faggett has been named Assistant Director, Florida Baseball Operations after working as the Assistant Director, Player Development since 2008.  Selected by Boston in the 33rd round of the 1992 First-Year Player Draft, he played 11 seasons of professional baseball, including nine in the Red Sox (1992-98) and Padres (1998-2000) chains.

David Howard has been named Field Coordinator after working as Special Assistant to the General Manager since December of 2007.  He was a Major League scout in 2007, a professional scout from 2005-06 and a minor league coach in 2004, his first year in the Red Sox organization.  The former infielder played nine seasons in the Majors with the Royals (1991-97) and Cardinals (1998-99).

Gary DiSarcina has been promoted to Infield Coordinator.  He previously served as the manager for Short-Season A Lowell from 2007-09, leading the Spinners to a 125-99 (.558) record and Stedler Division Championships in each of the last two years.  The former shortstop played 12 seasons for the Angels from 1989-2000 and was named an American League All-Star in 1995.

Chad Epperson has been promoted to Catching Coordinator after six seasons as a manager in the Red Sox system.  He guided Single-A Salem to a 67-72 (.482) record in 2009, advancing as far as the Carolina League Championship Series.  It was the fourth consecutive season that he led his team to the playoffs.  A veteran of nine minor league seasons as a player, Epperson was named California League Manager of the Year with Single-A Lancaster in 2007 and 2008.

Professional Scouting
Jared Porter has been promoted to Assistant Director, Professional Scouting.  Porter has been the club’s Coordinator, Professional Scouting since 2008 after serving as Assistant, Player Development in 2006-07.  He joined the Red Sox as an intern in 2004 and spent one year in Fort Myers, FL.  Porter previously worked for the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League in 2002-03 while attending Bowdoin (ME) College where he also played baseball.

International Scouting
Todd Claus returns to the Red Sox as Coordinator of Latin American Scouting/International Crosschecker after coaching Jacksonville (FL) University’s baseball program in 2009.  He was also with the Red Sox from 2004-08, spending three seasons as a minor league manager before serving as a Major League Advance Scout from 2007-08.  Claus had spent his entire baseball career in the Angels organization before joining the Red Sox.

Before the Padres requested permission to discuss the job with him, then-Red Sox director of amateur scouting Jason McLeod anticipated staying in Boston. He oversaw one of the most aggressive amateur scouting departments in the game, trusted with significant resources as well as a great working environment. McLeod’s input, moreover, extended beyond just the draft, as he was one of the organization’s most trusted evaluators.

But, when the Padres requested permission to talk with McLeod in the first days of November, shortly after Sox farm director Mike Hazen turned down San Diego’s Assistant GM position, the Sox initially refused to grant San Diego that right. The process was surprisingly prolonged, with Boston going almost a month before finally allowing McLeod to interview formally for the position last week.

Over that time, McLeod realized how rare an opportunity he had in San Diego. There would be the promotion to the role of Assistant GM in charge of Scouting and Player Development, and with it, an interesting and challenging set of new responsibilities. There was the opportunity to take such a job with Padres GM Jed Hoyer, with whom McLeod had worked for six years in Boston. And there was the opportunity to take such a job in his hometown.

Upon reflection, as he waited to find out whether the Sox would allow him to pursue the job in San Diego, McLeod realized that the Padres job represented the perfect storm.

“At the end, when it finally happened, there was a sense of certainty and relief,” said McLeod, who has worked with Theo Epstein for 13 of the last 15 years, and counts the Sox GM as one of his closest friends. “It was very bittersweet, because I have tremendous relationships over there. I love those guys over there. There was sadness there in leaving.

“On the other side, it’s a great job opportunity, working with Jed,” he continued. “The responsibilities for the job will be great. And then just going home, my son is going to get to grow up three minutes from his grandparents and 10 minutes from his cousins.”

The Sox made a concerted effort to keep McLeod. They offered changes to improve upon a job that he already enjoyed immensely. But, in the end, McLeod realized that he wanted to join Hoyer and the Padres, and so when granted permission last week, he accepted the position.

“It was flattering to know they were really happy with the work I had done,” said McLeod. “They made an incredible effort to keep me. It was everything I could possibly ever want, if not for this one opportunity.”

For a look at McLeod’s draft record with the Red Sox, click here.

Jason McLeod, who served as the director of the Red Sox’ amateur scouting department for the 2005-09 drafts — a period in which Boston was consistently considered to rate among the best drafts in the game — was introduced on Friday as the new Assistant GM for the San Diego Padres. McLeod will work with Padres GM Jed Hoyer, who left his post as Assistant GM in Boston to take his job in San Diego.

McLeod suggested that the decision to leave Boston was not an easy one. The Red Sox presented a particularly appealing work environment for an amateur scouting director, given the team’s investment of resources and intellectual energy into its scouting operations. But, the opportunity for McLeod to enjoy a broader scope of responsibilities, coupled with the chance to return home to the San Diego area and to work with Hoyer, was too good for him to pass up.

“It wasn’t just a slam dunk because of San Diego and the opportunity to come home. I think I was at a point in my career where certainly I was interested in gaining more responsibility, learning more as an executive. The opportunity that Jed presented to come here had a lot of meat on the bone,” McLeod said in a conference call. “Scouting and evaluating is what I love to do. It’s something that I think I’m very good at. For me, personally, I’ve always felt that your minor-league system is the life blood of the organization. To me, draft day is one of the most important if not the most important days of the year for any organization. I don’t take it lightly, the impact that an amateur scout has on a major-league organization.

“When Jed presented the opportunity and described what he was looking for out of this role, it was extremely compelling to me. It had to be. I was in a great situation in Boston, working for a great organization, one of the most talented GMs in the game with ownership that gave us the support that they did. It wasn’t going to be just any situation that I would leave for. It had to be certainly fulfilling, challenging from a professional standpoint. That’s exactly what I saw with this situation.”

Hoyer, meanwhile, described himself as “thrilled” to be adding to his staff a person whom he described as “a great evaluator” in McLeod. He suggested that the fruits of McLeods successes are quite obvious when examining the organization that he left behind.

“All you have to do is look out on the field for the Red Sox right now and go around the field to see the success,” said Hoyer. “In the infield, you’ve got Pedroia and Lowrie. You’ve got Ellsbury in the outfield. You’ve got pitchers like Bard, like Buchholz, pitchers who we’ve traded away like Masterson, like Hagadone, and obviously, a very good minor-league system that he left behind. I think the success that Jason had as the scouting director in Boston kind of speaks for itself.”

Even so, Hoyer said that while McLeod was an important part of the success of the Boston front office, he also believed that the Red Sox would continue to thrive even after his departure. The Red Sox operate through collaborative processes, and Hoyer said that the group of people who remain in the Boston organization are capable of sustaining the success of their scouting effort.

“The last thing I’d want to do is imply that it wasn’t a big team effort in Boston. There’s a lot of great people that work there and have done great work. The Red Sox are going to operate just fine going forward because of all those great people and those processes,” said Hoyer. “I’m thrilled to have Jason here to run scouting and player development here because I know how talented he is, and obviously how successful he’s been, but at the same time the Red Sox are going to operate just fine. They’ve got a lot of depth on their bench, to use a cliché, and they’ll move forward just fine.”

San Diego Padres GM Jed Hoyer, who served as Red Sox Assistant GM through the 2009 season, suggested in a conference call that the Padres would have a “level of comfort” in any potential trade with the Red Sox.

Hoyer suggested that contemplating the likelihood of a trade of Adrian Gonzalez to the Sox would be “just speculation.” That said, with both Hoyer and new Assistant GM Jason McLeod (former the Red Sox amateur scouting director) in San Diego, the Padres suggest that they would have greater confidence in evaluating any players whom they might acquire from Boston in a deal that they would with another club.

“I’m obviously talking totally hypothetically. Any transaction involving the Red Sox, I think there is a level of comfort,” Hoyer said in a conference call. “Most of the players over there were drafted by Jason. For a large part of that, I was the assistant GM. Knowing the player’s background, knowing their personality, there’s a comfort level in that, and frankly, I guess, a lack of risk compared to some other transactions where you don’t have the same level of knowledge. Any transaction involving the Red Sox mentally feels more stable because you certainly know the players. Certainly, putting it in the context of Adrian, that’s just speculation, but it is true that we know those players very well.”

Here is the statement the Red Sox released after Jed Hoyer — a member of Boston’s baseball operations department from 2002-09 — was named the general manager of the San Diego Padres:

Jed Hoyer, the Red Sox Senior Vice President/Assistant General Manager, was today named the Executive Vice President/General Manager of the San Diego Padres.

“Jed has been an immensely valuable member of our baseball ops team since joining the Red Sox in 2002,” said Red Sox Executive Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein. “His combination of analytical ability, feel for the game, interpersonal skills and creativity helped make us tick, and he played a role in virtually every major decision we have made. His loyalty and friendship will be missed, and we know he will continue to make us proud.”

“John Henry, Tom Werner and our entire ownership join Theo in expressing our gratitude and best wishes to Jed as he takes on this exciting new challenge in his already bright career as a baseball executive,” added President/CEO Larry Lucchino. “Throughout the eight seasons that he spent with us, his insight, hard work and great judgment were integral to the team’s success. In Jed, the Padres are catching a rising star and we will miss him both professionally and personally.”

A native of Plymouth, N.H., Hoyer started with the Red Sox baseball operations department in 2002 and was named Assistant to General Manager Theo Epstein following the 2003 season. He served as Assistant General Manager for the 2006-08 campaigns, with a 44-day stint as co-General Manager in the offseason following the 2005 season. Hoyer, 35, was promoted to Senior Vice President/Assistant General Manager on January 12, 2009 with his primary duties focused on assisting Epstein in all player acquisitions, contract negotiations and player evaluations. During his tenure in Boston, he was actively involved in building the Red Sox roster, as well as Major League scouting, quantitative analysis and advance scouting. The club reached the playoffs six times (2003-05, 2007-09), earning two World Series titles (2004 and 2007) in his eight seasons with the Red Sox.

Hoyer is a 1996 graduate of Wesleyan University where he played shortstop and pitched for four seasons, helping the Cardinals to the championship game of the Division III World Series in 1994. Honored with the Ahrens Award as the school’s top male athlete his senior year, Hoyer later served as an assistant baseball coach at Wesleyan for two seasons.

Ben Cherington, now the club’s only Senior VP/Assistant GM, will transition from his role overseeing scouting and player development to a more traditional Assistant GM role focusing on Major League roster construction, professional player evaluation, and contract negotiations. With Cherington’s change in duties, Jason McLeod and Mike Hazen will have full autonomy in their roles as Scouting Director and Farm Director, respectively, and will report directly to the General Manager.

At the time, his home run didn’t seem any different from the others he had hit that summer. Josh Reddick lofted a pitch from Ross Detwiler, who one year later would be the sixth overall pick in the 2007 Major League Baseball draft, over the wall at Lassiter High School in Marietta, GA, on a summer day in mid-July of 2006.

While the scouts had come to watch Detwiler’s Team USA take on Reddick’s Georgia Collegiate All-Stars, the questions started circulating about the kid named Reddick. Reddick’s home run was the only run the All-Stars would get off of Team USA and Detwiler in a 14-1 rout that day.

Yet for Reddick, the final outcome was an afterthought. He went 3-for-5 against a team comprised of the best college players in the country. Scouts buzzed about the Red Sox’ still-unsigned 17th round draft pick.

Within minutes, Red Sox director of amateur scouting Jason McLeod was receiving phone calls from other MLB scouting directors suggesting that he sign Reddick before they got the chance to pursue him. While most scouts in attendance were cursing themselves at not noticing the skinny kid earlier, the Red Sox had nailed him.

Thanks in part to their detailed efforts to learn about a player who was unknown to most, the Sox worked out a deal with Reddick and signed him for $140,000 on August 8, just three weeks after that game and two days before he was to return to his team at Middle Georgia College.

“This kid was a raw junior college kid who (Red Sox scouts) dug out of nowhere,” said Mike Hazen, the Red Sox farm director. “It’s a true scouting story. It’s a true, good evaluation, a gut instinct signing.”

And so began the professional career of Josh Reddick. The 22-year-old rookie was called back up to the Red Sox on Wednesday, his third call-up of the year. That is three more trips to the majors – with more to come – than nearly anyone expected during an amateur career spent in obscurity. His is the story of a player who in three years has come from a small junior college to a growing role in the future of one of the most storied franchises in baseball.

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