Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Pittsburgh Pirates have parted ways with renowned scout Rene Gayo, who served as the organization’s chief figure in signing talent from Latin America.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have dismissed Latin American director of scouting Rene Gayo, according to a report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
In a statement, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington had this to say:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“We had been apprised of Major League Baseball’s investigation into alleged Rules violations committed by Rene during his tenure with the Pirates and the fact that MLB intends to discipline Rene as a result of those violations,” general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement. “Other than confirming our profound disappointment in the breach of trust that was the subject of MLB’s investigation, we will have no further comment on the investigation or MLB’s intended discipline.”[/perfectpullquote]The “rules violations” Huntington refers to at least one instance of Gayo taking a kickback from bringing a Mexican League player into the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. It is important to note that Rosenthal is reporting that the Pirates do not face any organizational discipline.
Gayo had become well known during the Huntington era as a focal point of the team’s resurgence. His presence in Latin America — which bore the likes of Gregory Polanco, Starling Marte, Elias Diaz and others — practically built a steady pipeline of talent into the organization.
Many observers — fans and media alike — feel strongly that the club would never have rebounded from its 20-year long nadir.
Gayo’s tenure has not been without previous controversy. During the time in which clubs were clamoring to bring talented outfielder Miguel Sano to the majors, Gayo was painted as underhanded at best and villainous at worst by raising the specter of Sano’s dubious-at-the-time age to ward off other teams.
The international signing landscape has changed drastically since Gayo joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2004, which could theoretically give Gayo’s eventual replacement a leg up in maintaining continuity.
For more on this story as it develops, keep your eyes peeled to Pirates Breakdown.
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