BOSTON — Another longtime member of the Boston Red Sox baseball operations staff is leaving for the desert.
Nine days after the Arizona Diamondbacks hired away general manager Mike Hazen, Amiel Sawdaye is set to become his assistant GM, multiple sources confirmed Monday night. Sawdaye has been a mainstay in the Red Sox’s amateur scouting department since 2002, most recently serving as vice president of amateur/international scouting. He is credited with directing the club’s wildly successful 2011 draft that yielded outfielders Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr., catcher/left fielder Blake Swihart and third baseman Travis Shaw, among others.
Sawdaye was thought to be a candidate to replace Hazen as the Red Sox’s general manager, but it’s unclear whether president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski intends to fill the position.
With the final decision on all baseball matters resting with Dombrowski, it’s possible he will simply keep the status quo and continue to rely on a circle of lieutenants that includes pro scouting director Gus Quattlebaum, assistant GM Brian O’Halloran, farm director Ben Crockett, vice president of international scouting Eddie Romero, player personnel chief Allard Baird and senior vice president of baseball operations Frank Wren.
Another potential Boston-to-Arizona defection might be soon to follow. Last week, Dombrowski said he would be surprised if the Diamondbacks don’t request permission to interview bench coach Torey Lovullo for their managerial vacancy, adding that the Sox won’t stand in Lovullo’s way.
