Former MLB All-Star Re-Joins Dodgers in Front Office Role
Raúl Ibañez has always been known as a consummate professional.
The New York City native enjoyed a 19-year MLB career. He played for five different franchises (Seattle, Kansas City, Philadelphia, New York, Anaheim). During this time, Ibañez clubbed 305 home runs and finished with over 2,000 career hits.
Ibañez often is lauded for being a quality guy. He understands the nuances of the game, and that was reflected in his past penchant for grinding out at-bats. This sort of makeup is something young players would be wise to emulate.
As such, it's not surprising to learn that the Los Angeles Dodgers -- one of the more progressive franchises in professional baseball -- decided to bring Ibañez on in a front-office role.
According to a report from Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Ibañez was hired to be the Vice President of Baseball Development and Special Projects.
This is the third former big leaguer brought on by the team this offseason. They've also hired past slugger Nelson Cruz and former pitcher Chris Archer.
Cruz is slated to reportedly be an adviser with an emphasis on his native Dominican Republic, whereas Archer is functioning in more of a freelance/special assistant role with the ability to help out in numerous areas.
This isn't the first time Ibañez has worked for the Dodgers. He worked with Andrew Friedman for a handful of years (2016-20) before seeking other opportunities elsewhere.
He enjoyed a multi-year stint working for Major League Baseball before ultimately heading back to L.A. Presumably, this could set up Ibañez to become a manager one day, or perhaps a front office executive down the line. Learning from Dave Roberts and Friedman is the best pseudo-internship one can practically have.
Consider this to be another shrewd move by the Dodgers' brass. Ibañez is highly respected and experienced. It's also never a bad thing to add a guy who's been through the rigors of the sport at the highest level -- not to mention through multiple generations.
