The Indians on Monday announced a handful of hires and promotions within their front office.
The Tribe promoted Eric Binder to serve as the director of baseball operations and announced the hire of James Harris as the new director of player development. Paul Gillispie was promoted to be Cleveland's senior director of international scouting, while Victor Wang was named the director of pro scouting.
Binder, who joined the organization in 2013 as an intern, spent the past two seasons as the club's assistant director of player development. In his new role, he will be involved in the day-to-day functions and decision-making of the Indians' baseball operations department.
Harris joins the Indians after a season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, for whom he served as a special assistant in the front office. Harris has a unique background, having spent most of his professional career in football, most recently as the chief of staff for head coach Chip Kelly at the University of Oregon and with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Harris, a native of Los Angeles and a graduate of the University of Nebraska, was brought to Pittsburgh to increase the Pirates' front office's effectiveness and efficiency. He will take over for Carter Hawkins, who was recently promoted to assistant general manager.
Entering his 10th year with the organization, Gillispie served as the Indians' pro scouting director the past two seasons. Before that, he was Cleveland's assistant director of amateur scouting from 2009-14. His new role will place him in charge of the Tribe's acquisition of international amateur players.
Wang, who joined the organization in 2009, spent the previous four years as the Indians' assistant director of professional scouting. He will now oversee the club's pro scouting staff while assisting in coverage of the Major and Minor Leagues.