FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Seeking to add a young mind and a fresh perspective to the Orioles' front office, Andy MacPhail announced yesterday that he has hired Matt Klentak as director of baseball operations.
Klentak, 27, who spent the past four years working in Major League Baseball's Labor Relations Department, will assist MacPhail, the Orioles' president of baseball operations, with scouting, player development, contract negotiations and the overall construction of the team's major league roster. Klentak will join the team next Tuesday.
"I think he is a very bright, capable young man who has demonstrated a good feel for the game," said MacPhail, who first interviewed Klentak in December. "I think our philosophies are compatible, and I think he's going to bring a little different point of view, which every organization can use. He's highly recommended from a lot of people in this game that I have a lot of respect for."
Klentak first worked with MacPhail on MLB's collective bargaining team that successfully negotiated a second consecutive labor contract without a work stoppage in 2006.
"I felt very comfortable with him individually," Klentak said. "The questions I had for him were a lot about process, the goals of the organization, the goals of the department. I wanted to make sure before I took the job that we were on the same page. It became very apparent very quickly that we think similarly about the vision for this team."
MacPhail, who for much of the offseason has been pursuing an executive to join him, declined to characterize Klentak's place in the front office hierarchy. Scott Proefrock remains the director of baseball administration, and MacPhail hired his nephew, Lee, to serve as his special assistant and director of professional scouting. John Stockstill's title was recently adjusted to director of international scouting.
Mike Flanagan, who had been the top decision-maker in the front office before Andy MacPhail was hired in June, remains with the club as executive vice president. The contracts of Flanagan, Proefrock, Stockstill, director of scouting Joe Jordan and minor league director David Stockstill expire after the 2008 season.
"They're all going to be directors," said MacPhail, who added that the other executives' contracts will be addressed in a timely manner. "We'll sort out that thing later. These guys have been around me for a half-year. They know I'm not too into structures. These things we'll have to attack together."
MacPhail said definitive responsibilities will be sorted out by Opening Day.
"We got a pretty accomplished front office. ... We've talked about specific duties and whatnot, but I think a lot of it will play out," Klentak said. "I'm not real big on a pecking order, either. Obviously, people need to know what their job direction is. But I look at this as a big team effort. This is an extension of the players and the on-field staff. We have our own team upstairs. We have to work together to do our own jobs."
Klentak, who was a four-year player for Dartmouth and graduated from the Ivy League college in 2002 with a degree in economics, spent the 2003 season working with the Colorado Rockies in the baseball operations department. That is his only experience in a baseball front office.
"I do think a lot of what I've been through in the commissioner's office will be very relevant," Klentak said. "I think a lot of the contacts I made and the understanding of the market are directly applicable. But that said, there is a lot of on-field stuff that I need to learn. ... There's going to be a learning curve."
jeff.zrebiec@baltsun.com