There was a familiar face at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.
Jason Heyward was reporting for his first day of in-person duty in his new job.
The Dodgers have hired Heyward, the recently retired 16-year MLB veteran and former All-Star and Gold Glove outfielder, as a special assistant in their front office — a role that will allow the 36-year-old to begin what he hopes is a second career as a front office official.
“I asked for an opportunity to learn,” Heyward said. “I have a goal of potentially one day being in the front office.”
Heyward said his interest in a front office future was piqued during the final few seasons of his career, growing fascinated as an older player by all the intricacies that go into running an organization.
“As I came down the stretch over the last few years, it was watching different roles, having to make bullpen moves, having to make lineup matchups and things like that,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Let’s continue to have conversations on those and see what I can bring as a former player to that side of things.’”
For now, Heyward’s role with the Dodgers is open-ended. He will get the opportunity to experience several different front-office departments (on Wednesday, he was shadowing Dodgers vice president of scouting David Finley). He will also travel to the team’s minor-league affiliates to work with young players.
“I think it’s awesome to be a line of communication,” he said, “and be a resource to not just the players but also the front office.”
As for his long-term goals, he said it “would be amazing” to one day become a general manager or president of baseball operations with an MLB club.
“Again, I don’t know what that route looks like right now today, coming here without much experience in it,” he said. “But that’s what I’m here to work toward.”
While Heyward spent most of his playing career with the Braves (who drafted him 14th overall in 2007) and Cubs (where he won a World Series in 2016 and continues to live), he made a significant impact with the Dodgers over his two-year tenure with the team in 2023 and 2024.
During that time, he served a critical role as a veteran leader in the clubhouse. And though he was DFA’d late in the 2024 season –– just months before the team won its first of two consecutive World Series titles –– people around the organization still credit him with helping set a standard that has underscored much of their recent success.
“I’m excited for Jason to be back in the organization,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s got the clubhouse part covered, so part of it is working with the front office guys and getting to see the other side of things and how it operates. He’s going to be very helpful.”
After retiring as a player following a short stint with the Padres last year, Heyward said he reached out to several teams inquiring about a front office role this offseason.
The Dodgers, he noted, were the one that gave him the best opportunity to learn.
“I understand there’s a lot I have to learn on this side of things,” he said. “It’s great to be a player, it’s great to have that experience. I think that will help me along the way. But at the same time I knew it was important to learn to scout, how to evaluate players, learn the R&D, analytics, terminologies and things like that.”
“Everything’s on the table,” he added of what his future might hold. “It is a process, starting from the ground up … But it is nice to have an opportunity to learn for what I think is the best.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
