Sometime in April, for the first time in his career, John Stockstill will board a jet in Baltimore and deplane in Tokyo.

Another small step for the Orioles. Another giant leap for Oriole kind.

At least one can hope.

Stockstill, the Orioles' assistant general manager for pro scouting, will undergo a title change next month when he officially becomes the club's director of international scouting or something to that effect.

He's already been to the Dominican Republic as part of his new role. He'll travel to Taiwan in early March. But the winds of change truly take hold in April when Stockstill makes his first of several trips this year to Japan.

Sure, the Orioles are a day late and a yen short here. It's something teams such as the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees have been doing for years. But at least it is happening. At least the full-court push for a Japanese player won't be from a fax machine as it was when Syd Thrift pursued Hideki Matsui.

"In the past, we have made offers on [Japanese] players. We know the players, but we have not had a presence, an Orioles presence there, for the level we need to," Stockstill said. "[Asia] is an area where we have not succeeded in signing players, and ultimately, I think what we need to do is finalize the chapter by signing players."

That's the key. The Orioles can buy as many foreign-language tapes and amass as many frequent-flier miles as humanly possible. But what must happen for them to be effective internationally is to open the checkbook and begin signing the best players the world has to offer for 2009 and beyond.

It's in the plans, club president Andy MacPhail said. And, he says, Orioles owner Peter Angelos is on board.

"The thing I have talked to Peter about, and he has been great, is to try to redeploy our assets to some degree," MacPhail said. "Rather than us go out and make another splash in the free-agent market, let's take that money and let's put it in the infrastructure of our franchise. That means scouting and development. Not just scouting and development in the United States. It means scouting and development around the world."

MacPhail said the Orioles' 2008 budget has been approved and the allocation for the international program is "a significant leap from what it has been in the past."

What that means is unclear, but in the past, the Orioles have used their millions almost exclusively on free agents and draft picks. And it shows.

"This franchise has spent the money," MacPhail said. "To me, it's not a question of how much but where."

Only three players on the Orioles' 40-man roster - pitchers Daniel Cabrera, Radhames Liz and Fredy Deza - were signed and developed out of the Orioles' Dominican program. No Orioles-developed Venezuelan player has made it above Double-A. And no Asian-born player has worn an Orioles uniform.

"We have to do better," MacPhail said. "Doesn't matter who you are. Big market, small market, big revenue, low revenue ... you have to do better."

That said, MacPhail warns that fans shouldn't expect the Orioles to land next year's version of Daisuke Matsuzaka.

"John's first mission is to go out and essentially visit the different markets and try to make whatever contacts and make some judgments where it is going to be the most effective and efficient to establish a presence beyond our own borders," MacPhail said.

So what this will be, really, is an intercontinental reconnaissance mission. See who and what is out there and then proceed. Another measured step toward an ultimate goal - the mantra of MacPhail's Orioles.

Lost in translation, however, is that previous regimes believe they had the contacts in Asia and elsewhere, just not the green light or the greenbacks.

The reason there's hope this will finally be the start of a talent pipeline to Baltimore, from somewhere, anywhere, isn't because the Orioles will physically be in Asia or will be better represented in South America and the Caribbean. It's because MacPhail has accomplished things in the past eight months that were always discussed but never occurred. Such as a new Dominican facility that opens in April or millions spent on draft picks represented by Scott Boras. Right now, MacPhail seems to have the authority to carry out a plan.

"Judge us by our deeds and not by my words," MacPhail said. "We paid the price of a new facility in the Dominican Republic. We just spent $7 million on our two top draft picks of last year. No sense of me arguing the case, but actions speak louder than words. You can just see what we've done."

His latest accomplishment is creating a true international scouting department and handing it over to one of his most respected lieutenants. It won't matter, however, if the organization isn't willing - or able - to sign players who can make a difference.

dan.connolly@baltsun.com