MILWAUKEE -- Multiple baseball sources say the Brewers are in the midst of hiring a new amateur scouting director after promoting Ray Montgomery to vice president of scouting, a new position that encompasses the team's professional, amateur and international scouting efforts, giving Montgomery a more significant voice in Major League matters.
Brewers pro scouting director Zack Minasian is also transitioning to a new role, according to sources, and pro scout Cory Melvin, the son of former Brewers GM Doug Melvin, has left the organization for a similar job with the Yankees.
The Brewers have not made any announcements about front office changes, and general manager David Stearns declined to confirm the moves in an email exchange with MLB.com on Wednesday, saying the team was still working through its scouting structures as the Brewers near the end of Stearns' first season in charge. Wednesday marked one year since his introductory press conference.
Stearns communicated Montgomery's promotion to Brewers baseball operations officials and scouts in an Aug. 23 email, saying Montgomery would help the team blend objective metrics with traditional scouting methods. He will spend more time in Milwaukee around the Major League club, a significant change after traveling most of the past two years in preparation for the annual MLB Draft.
Montgomery, 47, is the Brewers' most senior staffer with professional playing experience. He was a 13th-round Draft pick of the Astros in 1990 and played parts of 13 pro seasons as an outfielder, including stints in the Major Leagues with Houston over three straight years from 1996-98.
After playing in the Mets organization in 2001, Montgomery transitioned to a scouting career with the Brewers beginning in 2002, rising through the ranks to Midwest cross-checker from 2007-10, then to assistant scouting director from 2009-10. The Arizona Diamondbacks hired Montgomery as scouting director in 2011, and he held that job until the Brewers hired him back in November 2014.
Montgomery and Minasian were each in place when Stearns took over as GM.
Minasian is expected to assume an advisory role, according to sources, though the details were not immediately clear. This season marks his 12th in the Brewers front office, having begun as a baseball operations intern after growing up around baseball in Texas, where his father ran the Rangers' clubhouse. Minasian's brother, Perry, is pro scouting director for the Blue Jays.
Cory Melvin was a Brewers scout for seven seasons before beginning his new job with the Yankees about two weeks ago, sources said.
The Brewers originally hoped to have a new amateur scouting director in place by the end of this season. Stearns said he would comment once the changes are finalized.