CLEVELAND -- The Indians' front-office structure took a hit when the Twins hired Derek Falvey as their new president of baseball operations. Falvey was so crucial to Cleveland's behind-the-scenes operations that he remained with the Tribe until the end of its World Series run.
On Friday, the Indians announced their plan for helping fill the hole created by Falvey's departure. Both Carter Hawkins and Matt Forman have been promoted to the role of assistant general manager under GM Mike Chernoff and team president Chris Antonetti. Hawkins was Cleveland's director of baseball operations for the past two years, while Forman had served as the team's director of baseball operations this past season.
"With Derek leaving the assistant GM position, we had to fill that role," Chernoff said on Friday. "I don't expect we'll fill [Falvey's role] exactly the same way, but Carter Hawkins and Matt Forman will be promoted to assistant general managers. Carter, who had been director of player development, will continue to oversee our player development.
"Matt, who had sort of come up through more of a scouting background, will oversee a lot of our scouting and acquisition processes -- international, professional -- and continue to be involved in the amateur stuff. And then, both guys will be part of our leadership team with all personnel, staff development and other initiatives."
Hawkins joined the Indians in 2008, and he will continue to assist Antonetti and Chernoff in all aspects of baseball operations, along with overseeing the farm system. Forman, who is in his fourth season with the Indians, joined the organization after a stint with Baseball America. He was heavily involved on the scouting side of Cleveland's front office this past year, and he also had a hand in a few of the team's arbitration cases.
Antonetti noted that the Indians do not anticipate Falvey bringing any other front-office members with him to the Twins.
During his time with the Indians, Falvey quickly rose up the organizational ladder and he was instrumental on a number of fronts. He served as a kind of link between the front office and clubhouse, working closely with manager Terry Francona, the coaching staff and individual players in a variety of ways. Falvey was also involved in many contract and arbitration negotiations over the past few years, while helping the player development team.