Dodgers Hire Jeff Kingston As VP/Assistant GM

The Dodgers have hired Jeff Kingston as their new vice president and assistant general manager, as per a club announcement.  Kingston held those same titles with the Mariners before resigning to take the job in Los Angeles.

Kingston is just 41 years old, though he already has close to two decades’ worth of experience in Major League front offices.  Kingston began as an intern with the Padres and worked in San Diego for nine years before moving to Seattle in 2009.  When former Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik was fired in 2015, Kingston briefly took over as Seattle’s interim general manager before Jerry Dipoto was hired as the permanent GM.  Upon Dipoto joining the organization, Kingston was promoted to his VP/assistant GM title and was heavily involved in all facets of the operation, including overseeing the analytics and player development departures.

That analytical bent makes Kingston a good fit in a Dodgers organization that has prioritized being on the cutting edge of baseball data under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.  Though Friedman is atop the baseball decision-making pyramid regardless of specific title, it is perhaps noteworthy that Kingston will be an assistant GM on a team without an actual general manager, as the Dodgers aren’t planning to hire a new GM this offseason in the wake of Farhan Zaidi’s departure to the Giants.