Los Angeles Angels continue raid of Yankees front office

Los Angeles Angels General Manager Billy Eppler lured another front office member from his previous club, the New York Yankees, to be his assistant GM.

The Angels announced Wednesday that they hired Steve Martone to be one of Eppler’s assistant GMs. With former GM Jerry Dipoto gone, the two former assistant GMs left to seek better opportunities. Scott Servais followed Dipoto to Seattle to become their new manager, while Matt Klentak landed in Philadelphia as their new GM.

Eppler had quite some work to do when he took over as the Angels’ GM. He had four key positions to fill, two assistant GMs, hitting coach and pitching coach. Eppler has swiftly filled those voids within the past couple weeks. Martone rounds out the last major open position.

The 35-year-old Martone has been with the Yankees organization for the past nine years, serving as manager of professional scouting for the past two seasons. Martone identified players on other clubs to acquire through trades or free agency. He is expected to have a similar role with the Angels, but will also work closely with pro scouting director Hal Morris and baseball operations director Justin Hollander.

It’s no surprise that Eppler brought on two of his former colleagues from the Yankees, as many front office personnel tend to follow people they have worked well with in the past.

The Angels could still elect to hire another assistant GM. However, it was crucial that Eppler got all of his pieces in place early to give them ample time during the offseason to prepare for the upcoming season. It will allow the transition process to be more smooth and hopefully lead to more Angel wins.