Dodgers name Farhan Zaidi as general manager, Josh Byrnes to oversee scouting and player development

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By Jon Weisman

Dodger president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has officially named his top two lieutenants in the front office, announcing Farhan Zaidi as the franchise’s 11th general manager and Josh Byrnes as senior vice president of baseball operations.

The 37-year-old Zaidi had been the assistant general manager and director of baseball operations in Oakland, while Byrnes was most recently executive vice president and general manager of the Padres.

“It is very exciting for us to be able to add two exceptional, veteran baseball executives like Farhan and Josh,” Friedman said. “Farhan’s primary focus will be the Major League team and player acquisitions while Josh will concentrate on the oversight of scouting and player development. However, they will both work closely with me on all aspects of baseball operations in our efforts to make the Dodgers’ front office and team the best it can possibly be.”

Zaidi, who got his degree in economics from MIT in 1998 and followed that with a Ph. D from California completed in 2011, was profiled at length in February by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. After serving as business development associate for Small World Media, the fantasy sports division of The Sporting News, and working as a management consultant for the Boston Consulting Group, Zaidi joined the Athletics as a baseball operations assistant in 2004.

After setting career records in homers and RBI at Haverford College, Byrnes began his front office career in 1994 with the Cleveland Indians, working as an advance scout in 1995 and 1996 before being promoted to director of scouting in 1998. The following year, Byrnes became assistant general manager of the Rockies, then moved to the Red Sox in the same role for the 2003-05 seasons, encompassing Boston’s 2004 World Series title.