A little over a month later naming James Kang as their new Director of International ScoutingTHE New York Mets we decided who would work most closely with him.

Friday, Athletic’s Will Sammon reported that the Mets are hiring Laiky Uribe as assistant director of international research. Uribe spent the last eight years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, working in various scouting roles.

A native of the Bronx, Uribe played catcher for Odessa College and Galveston College in the early 2010s before launching his professional career as a volunteer assistant in St. Louis Cardinals in August 2015. He expressed his excitement about returning home to the Big Apple in a post on Twitter/X:

Before joining the Cleveland Guardians as a senior player acquisitions researcher in December, Kang and Uribe overlapped in the Dodgers organization for four years, with both serving as international scouts for the last three.

During that time, the Dodgers secured numerous talented international prospects, including outfielder Josue De Paula (No. 2 in The Dodgers’ farm system), shortstop Joendry Vargas (No. 7) and outfielder Eduardo Quintero (No. 9). Los Angeles currently boasts the fifth-best farm system in baseball, fittingly The MLB pipelinewhile the Mets rank 13th.

Hiring former Dodgers employees has become a trend for the Mets since Steve Cohen purchased the team in the fall of 2020. Ahead of Cohen’s first season as owner in 2021, the Mets hired Ben Zauzmer from the Dodgers to lead their pitching department. analysis, promoting him to assistant general manager before the 2022 season.

Four years ago, Cohen it was said to shape its organization like the East Coast version of the now World Series champion Dodgers. After a poor start to the 2024 season, the Mets far exceeded their low expectations and made it to the NLCS, pushing Los Angeles to six games before ultimately falling short.

New York has the financial flexibility to compete with any team, including the big-spending Dodgers, who committed more than $1 billion to free agents last winter. However, what has distinguished Los Angeles in recent years is its consistent ability to develop quality prospects, giving them an edge in roster construction and successful trade negotiations.

Continuing to recruit former Dodgers scouts, the Mets appear to be striving to replicate their NL rival’s success in identifying and attracting future stars in international free agency.