Nationals announce front office promotions

    The Washington Nationals today promoted Doug Harris to Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Player Development, Kris Kline to Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Scouting Operations, Mark Scialabba to Director of Player Development, Mark Baca to National Supervisor, Jeff Zona to Special Assistant to the General Manager and Fred Costello to National Crosschecker. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.

  Harris offers over 24 years of baseball experience and has overseen the development of the Nationals' farm system for the last four seasons. Harris came to Washington in October of 2009 after stints with Cleveland and Texas. Harris was selected by Kansas City in the fourth round of the 1990 Draft out of James Madison University and played seven professional seasons in three organizations (Royals, Orioles, Marlins).

 Kline begins his fifth season as the head of Washington's amateur scouting efforts. He joined the organization in the fall of 2006 and spent his first three seasons in Washington as a special assignment scout, then as the western crosschecker. A scout for over 20 years, Kline spent the previous seven seasons with Arizona, earning a World Series ring in 2001. Before joining Arizona, Kline worked 10 seasons scouting for the Angels after completing his four-year professional playing career in their minor league system.  

Scialabba joined the Nationals in 2006 and has served in his current role as Director of Minor League Operations since October of 2009. He will continue to work in conjunction with Doug Harris on all aspects of Washington's player development operation, including contracts, roster management, budgets and player personnel decisions. He graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts, where he also played baseball. Scialabba eventually earned an MBA and Masters in Sport Management at the University of Massachusetts.

Baca started with Washington in 2008, serving as an area scout covering the talent-rich region of Southern California. Baca covered that same region as an area scout for Arizona (2001-07), with whom he earned a World Series ring in 2001. Prior to his stint with Arizona, he worked for Montreal (1995-2000) and Cleveland (1993-95). Baca attended Cal State-Fullerton and was selected by the Angels in the 22nd round of the 1987 Draft.

his seventh season with Washington after joining the amateur scouting staff as the eastern crosschecker in September of 2006. He spent the 2008 and '09 campaigns as a Major League scout and became the national crosschecker following the '09 season. Zona previously spent 16 years with Boston, earning a World Series ring in 2004. Zona attended Virginia Commonwealth University and played three professional seasons with Boston and Atlanta before joining the Boston scouting staff in 1990.

 Costello joined the Nationals in December of 2010 as an area scout, covering the Northwest region of the United States. Prior to joining Washington, he worked as an area scout for the Dodgers from 2008-10 and Arizona from 2000-07. Costello was drafted in the fourth round of the 1990 Draft and played 10 professional seasons in three organizations (Astros, Giants, White Sox).

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Henley added to Matt Williams' staff

The Nationals have agreed to terms with Bob Henley to serve as their third base coach. With the addition of Henley, Washington's 2014 major league coaching staff is complete:

Manager: Matt Williams

Bench Coach: Randy Knorr

Hitting Coach: Rick Schu

Pitching Coach: Steve McCatty

First Base Coach: Tony Tarasco

Third Base Coach: Bob Henley

Bullpen Coach: Matt LeCroy

Defensive Coordination and Advance Coach: Mark Weidemaier