Former Nationals executive, who helped sign Juan Soto, set to join Kansas City Royals
Former Washington Nationals international scouting director Johnny DiPuglia has accepted a position with the Kansas City Royals, he confirmed to The Star in a social media message on Tuesday.
The move was first reported in a post from The Nats Report.
The Royals officially announced the hiring on Thursday afternoon. DiPuglia was hired as a special assistant of international scouting. Meanwhile, KC also hired Fred Guerrero as coordinator of player evaluation.
In a press release, Royals executive Rene Francisco addressed the signings. Francisco operates as the Royals senior vice president of Major League & International Operations. He also serves as the team’s assistant general manager.
“We are thrilled to announce the newest additions to our International Scouting staff, Fred Guerrero and Johnny DiPuglia,” Rene Francisco said. “Their wealth of experience and stellar reputations as scouts make them valuable assets to our team. In their roles, they will actively contribute to all facets of international scouting operations. We look forward to the enhanced expertise and success they bring to our organization.”
DiPuglia held multiple roles within the Nationals organization. He oversaw the Nationals’ international operations and also served as vice president and assistant general manager following the 2019 World Series. He also was also inducted in the South Florida Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020.
In a USA TODAY story in September, MLB reporter Bob Nightengale said of DiPuglia: “He’s a huge star in the international scouting world and will have teams frantically bidding for his services.” Nightengale also called DiPuglia’s departure “a huge blow to the Nats.”
In his Nationals tenure, DiPuglia helped sign multiple international free agents. Most notably, DiPuglia had an instrumental role in signing three-time All-Star Juan Soto and outfielder Victor Robles.
DiPuglia joined the Nationals in 2009. His previous stints include time with the St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox. DiPuglia was the Latin America scouting director with the Red Sox. He helped sign former MLB star Hanley Ramirez and shortstop Xander Boegarts.
In 2019, DiPuglia was also named Major League Baseball’s international scout of the year. DiPuglia resigned from his Nationals position in September.
Guerrero arrives from the Minnesota Twins organization. He spent 20 years with the Twins in various roles. Recently, Guerrero served as the director of Latin American scouting & US integration. He helped sign MLB players Luis Arraez, Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sanó among others.
The Royals made significant changes to their scouting department last season. KC hired Brian Bridges as their new director of amateur scouting. He took over for Danny Ontiveros, who was promoted to vice president of scouting.
Additionally, the Royals promoted Jim Cuthbert to director of pro personnel and strategy. Daniel Guerrero was also elevated to director of international scouting.
DiPuglia will have some familiarity with the Royals. He worked alongside Cuthbert and Guerrero in the Nationals organization.
Cuthbert worked for the Nationals from 2018-2020 as a major league advance scout. Meanwhile, Guerrero was a player development and baseball operations intern with the Nationals in 2017.
This story was originally published January 2, 2024 at 9:06 PM.
