Indians Changing Latin American Director

The Indians will have a new scouting boss in Latin America, as the team has parted ways with director of Latin American operations Ramon Pena.

Pena, who was in charge of the team’s Latin American scouting since Nov. 2009, has been in scouting for 34 years, including previous stints with the Mets, Tigers and Royals. Under his watch, the Indians’ international signings have included big league infielder Jose Ramirez as well as prospects on the farm such as Dominican catcher Francisco Mejia, Cuban third baseman Yandy Diaz and Venezuelan lefthander Luis Lugo.

“Over the course of the last several weeks, Ramon and I had a chance to talk through our vision for Latin America,” Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. “Throughout the course of that dialogue, after a lot of discussion, we both thought it would be best to go our separate ways. It was an amicable split. Ramon and I even talked again today as he helps us transition. I have a great deal of respect for Ramon. He’s an incredibly accomplished leader in the Dominican Republic, he has a tremendous track record of success and I have no doubt he will have success at his next stop wherever that may be.”

Antonetti said the team was still in the process of determining who will now be in charge of the team’s Latin American operations.

“We agreed upon parting ways in a mutual, friendly way,” Pena said. “I want to thank the Dolan family for the opportunity they gave me to work for a fine organization like the Cleveland Indians. I enjoyed my time working with Chris Antonetti and (general manager) Mike Chernoff. I also enjoyed working with Mark Shapiro, who was responsible for bringing me to the Cleveland Indians, and I also would like to thank Ross Atkins and (senior director of scouting operations) John Mirabelli for their support. I enjoyed working with them.”

Shapiro and Atkins both left the Indians in 2015 to become the president and general manager, respectively, with the Blue Jays.