Red sox announce a flurry of promotions

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Red Sox today announced several personnel moves in the organization’s Baseball Operations department.

President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski made the announcement.

Baseball Operations

Jared Banner has been promoted to Vice President, Player Personnel. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Banner joined the Red Sox in 2007 as a fellow in the baseball operations department. Over the last five years, he has worked as Director, Player Personnel (2016) and Assistant Director, Player Personnel (2012-15). Banner, a graduate of Amherst College, where he played four years of varsity baseball, has also worked for the club as Assistant, Player Development (2008-09), Assistant, Amateur Scouting (2009-10), and Coordinator, Amateur Scouting (2010-12).

Brian Bannister was promoted to Vice President, Pitching Development and Assistant Pitching Coach. In addition to his role in the front office, Bannister will continue his on-field work with Red Sox pitchers and the major league coaching staff. A former pitcher with parts of five seasons in the major leagues between the New York Mets (2006) and the Kansas City Royals (2007-10), Bannister has spent each of the last two years with the Red Sox, working as a Professional Scout and Analyst in 2015 and as Director of Pitching Analysis and Development in 2016.

Ben Crockett was promoted to Vice President, Player Development. Currently in his 10th year in the Red Sox organization, Crockett spent the last five seasons as Director, Player Development. A Harvard College graduate, he began his career with the club as an intern in Baseball Operations in 2007. Since then, the Topsfield, MA native has worked as an Advance Scouting Coordinator (2008-09) and as Assistant Director, Player Development (2010-11). A former pitcher, Crockett was selected by the Red Sox in the 10th round of the 2001 June Draft, but did not sign. He spent five years in the Colorado Rockies organization (2002-06) after being selected by the club in the third round of the 2002 draft.

Gus Quattlebaum was promoted to Vice President, Professional Scouting. An Andover, MA native in his 12th year with the Red Sox, Quattlebaum spent last season as Director, Professional Scouting. He began his Red Sox career in 2006 as a professional scout, and has also worked for the club as Assistant Director, Amateur Scouting (2010-14) and Assistant Director, Professional and International Scouting (2015). Before coming to the Red Sox, Quattlebaum scouted in the New York Yankees (1999-2003) and Baltimore Orioles (2004-06) organizations. He got his start in baseball as a player development intern with the Montreal Expos in 1998.

Mike Rikard has been promoted to Vice President, Amateur Scouting. A native of Durham, NC, Rikard is in his 12th year in the Red Sox organization. He spent the previous two years as the club’s Director, Amateur Scouting, overseeing the June drafts in 2015 and 2016. Rikard, a graduate of the University of North Carolina-Greensboro where he played shortstop, began his career with the club as a regional crosschecker in 2005. He has also held positions with the club as national crosschecker (2010-12) and national scouting coordinator (2013-14). Before coming to Boston, Rikard began his scouting career as an area scout for the San Diego Padres (2000-04).

Zack Scott has been promoted to Vice President, Baseball Research & Development. In his new role, Scott, who began his career with the Red Sox as a baseball operations intern in 2004, will oversee the club's analytics and baseball systems development. For the previous five years (2012-16), Scott served as the club's Director, Major League Operations. Before joining the Red Sox, Scott worked as a baseball data analyst at Diamond Mind, Inc. from 2000-03, consulting for the Red Sox in 2003.

Frank Wren will now hold the title of Senior Vice President, Player Personnel. He will report directly to Dombrowski along with Allard Baird, also Senior Vice President, Player Personnel. Wren completed his first full season with the Red Sox in 2016, serving as Senior Vice President, Baseball Operations. The former General Manager of the Atlanta Braves (2008-14) and Baltimore Orioles (1999) was hired by the Red Sox in September of 2015 and worked as a talent evaluator, assisting Dombrowski in all aspects of baseball operations.

Dave Bush was hired as Pitching Development Analyst. A former pitcher with nine years of major league experience between the Toronto Blue Jays (2004-05; 2013), Milwaukee Brewers (2006-10), and Texas Rangers (2011), Bush will assist Bannister and work with pitchers in the Red Sox’ minor league system. For the last two years (2015-16), Bush, who grew up in Devon, PA, has worked for Major League Baseball International as a coach instructing players in development centers and camps in Europe, China, and Africa. A graduate of Wake Forest University, Bush also served as a pitching coach for the national teams of both China and South Africa. He will work as Team China’s pitching coach in the upcoming 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Mike Regan was promoted to Assistant Director, Baseball Administration. A native of West Roxbury, MA, Regan began his career with the Red Sox in 2010 as an intern in the Baseball Operations department. For the last five years, he has worked in a full-time capacity for the club as both Coordinator, Baseball Operations from 2014-16, and Assistant, Baseball Operations from 2012-13. A graduate of Trinity College, Regan was the captain of the school’s Division III National Championship baseball team in 2008.

Paul Toboni was hired as Assistant Director, Amateur Scouting. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where he played baseball, Toboni joined the Red Sox Baseball Operations department in 2015 as an intern in amateur scouting. He spent the 2016 season as an amateur scout for the club with coverage in both northern Texas and northern Louisiana. Prior to joining the Red Sox, Toboni interned in the Oakland Athletics baseball operations department in 2013. A native of San Francisco, CA, Toboni earned his MBA in Finance and Analytics from the University of Notre Dame.

Sports Medicine Service

Brad Pearson, the major league club’s Head Athletic Trainer, will now hold the title of Director of Sports Medicine Service & Head Athletic Trainer. The native of Ludlow, VT will oversee the daily operation of the Red Sox’ Sports Medicine Service department. Pearson just completed his 14th season in the organization and his fifth year with the major league team. He was named Head Athletic Trainer for the Red Sox on September 25, 2015.

Laz Gutierrez, Mental Skills Coordinator, will head the mental skills program at the major league level. This past season marked his second year as one of the club’s mental skills coordinators, but beginning in 2017, he will spend more time with the major league team and players in the upper levels of the Red Sox’ minor league system. A native of Miami, FL and a former pitcher in the Detroit Tigers’ and San Diego Padres’ minor league systems, Gutierrez just completed his 10th season in the Red Sox organization.

Jon Jochim was named Assistant Athletic Trainer for the major league club. For the past seven seasons, the Mariah Hill, IN native worked as an Athletic Trainer for the Pawtucket Red Sox (2010-16) and last season as Senior Athletic Trainer. Jochim has 13 years of experience as an athletic trainer in the Red Sox organization, having worked for the club’s minor league affiliates in Pawtucket, Portland (2009), Lancaster (2007-08), the Gulf Coast League (2006; 2003), and Lowell (2004-05).


Major League Scouting

Blair Henry was promoted to Major League Scout. A native of St. Paul, MN, Henry has been an amateur scout in the Red Sox organization for the last 11 years. He first joined the club in 2006 with coverage in Northern California before moving to cover the Midwest in 2010. Prior to his time with the Red Sox, Henry worked as a part-time scout in the Chicago White Sox organization in 2004.

Tim Huff was hired as a Major League Scout. For the previous four seasons (2013-16), he was a Special Assistant to the General Manager with the Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim. A native of Phoenix, AZ, Huff spent six years in the Tampa Bay Rays organization working as a national crosschecker from 2007-12. He began his scouting career with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1999 following a two-year stint (1997-98) pitching in the club’s minor league system as a non-drafted free agent. Huff spent his final three years (2003-05) with the Blue Jays as a national crosschecker.