Red Sox announce trio of front office moves

The Red Sox announced the first series of front office personnel moves since the hiring of new Team President Dave Dombrowski. Brian Bannister has been named Director of Pitching Analysis and Development, Chris Mears will be the Pitching Crosschecker, and Gus Quattlebaum has been named Director of Professional Scouting. Quattlebaum takes over for Jared Porter, who left the Red Sox organization to take the same position with the Chicago Cubs.

Bannister, a five-year major league veteran with the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets, originally joined the Red Sox before the 2015 season as a professional scout and analyst. The position was created specifically for Bannister with the plan to take more of an analytical approach to pitching development throughout the system. While a player, Bannister became known for his early embrace of sabermetrics as a way to analyze his own pitching.

Mears has served with the Red Sox as an amateur scout since 2008. Per Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal, Mears fills a position of Pitching Crosschecker that had not been filled since 2011. The previous person to fill that role was Al Nipper, who was hired away to the Tigers organization by Dombrowski. Pitchers Mears signed while an amateur scout included 2013 second-round pick Teddy Stankiewicz and 2008 third-rounder Kyle Weiland. He was also the signing scout for the number seven overall pick this June, outfielder Andrew Benintendi.

Quattlebaum is in his 10th season with the Boston organization and his 17th in professional baseball. He had most recently been the Assistant Director of Professional and International Scouting, and previously served as a professional scout. Before joining the Red Sox, Quattlebaum worked for the Montreal Expos, New York Yankees, and Baltimore Orioles.

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