Oakland Athletics executive Paul DePodesta was hired Monday as general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The hiring was the first move made by new owner Frank McCourt, who bought the team Friday from News Corp for US$430 million, and came just two days before pitchers and catchers are scheduled report to spring training in Vero Beach, Florida.
The 31-year-old DePodesta had been a top assistant to Oakland general manager Billy Beane since joining the A's in 1998.
Dan Evans was in the final season of a three-year contract as the Dodgers' general manager. McCourt said the day after the sale was approved that Evans would be merely a candidate for his own job. Promoted to GM on Oct. 3, 2001, Evans interviewed along with other candidates including Philadelphia Phillies assistant GM Ruben Amaro.
DePodesta is considered one of baseball's top young executives and had been expected to take over as GM of the A's in November 2002, when Beane agreed to become GM of the Boston Red Sox. But Beane changed his mind and stayed in Oakland.
DePodesta, who becomes the ninth GM in Dodgers history, has an economics degree from Harvard.
He becomes the second-youngest general manager in baseball, behind Red Sox GM Theo Epstein, who was 28 when he took the job in November 2002.
He takes over a team that had the best pitching staff and worst offense in baseball last season. The Dodgers went 85-77 and finished second in the NL West, 15 1/2 games behind the San Francisco Giants.
The Dodgers have not won a postseason game since beating Oakland in the 1988 World Series and haven't made the playoffs since 1996. The Dodgers made only few changes after McCourt announced Oct. 10 he had reached an agreement to buy the team.
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