Indians Name Koby Perez New Latin American Director

The Indians have a new top scout in Latin America. Koby Perez, who had been an international crosschecker for the team the last two years, was promoted to director of Latin American scouting, filling the vacancy from the departure of Ramon Pena earlier this month.

Perez has been with the Indians since November 2013, joining the team after spending the previous five years with the Phillies, where he was primarily responsible for scouting in the Dominican Republic. Perez had been an integral part of Philadelphia’s strong run of Dominican signings during that stretch. He was involved in the signings of third baseman Maikel Franco, outfielder Domingo Santana and righthanders Hector Neris and Lisalverto Bonilla, all of whom have reached the major leagues. He was also a signing scout for righthanders Franklyn Kilome and Adonis Medina, who both rank among the Phillies’ Top 10 prospects.

“I know I have big shoes to fill replacing Ramon, who I consider one of the best evaluators in the game and a mentor to me, but I’m also appreciative of the opportunity we have to try to replicate as a group some of the success Ramon has had in the past,” Perez said.

Prior to working for the Phillies, Perez was a northeast area scout for the Cardinals from 2006-08. During that time, he was the signing scout for big league righthanders Adam Ottavino and Mitch Harris.