Maduro on Perez: "I think it's an outstanding hire"

The hiring of Koby Perez as the Orioles' senior director of international scouting enabled executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias to reach further into his professional past, all the way to his Cardinals days in their scouting department.

Elias also has brought in assistant Sig Mejdal, who worked with him in St. Louis and Houston, and minor league pitching coordinator Chris Holt, formerly the Astros' assistant pitching coordinator.

If anyone needs additional information on Perez, they could contact Orioles international scout Calvin Maduro. The former pitcher has known Perez since they briefly were teammates with the independent Newark Bears back in 2003, and the relationship has grown over the years.

Perez appeared in only five games as his professional career was winding down, unable to hold a roster spot with the Red Sox's rookie league team. He played in 12 games the following summer with the Aces in the independent Northeast League and two with Newark in 2005 before retiring.

Maduro's stint in Newark came one year after his final major league appearance with the Orioles, who signed him as an amateur free agent in 1991. He was traded to the Phillies in 1996, one of the players to be named later in the deal for Pete Incaviglia and Todd Zeile, but he returned three years later as a free agent.

"He was a kid who caught," Maduro said of Perez. "If you had to throw a bullpen, he was in the bullpen. He was ready to go. Just the passion he has for the game, it shows right now, too.

"When I played for the Newark Bears I had five or six years of big league experience already. I wasn't snobby to anybody. I'd say, 'Hey Koby, you want to catch a bullpen?' And he'd say, 'Yeah, let's go.' And when we talked a few weeks ago, he remembered that. He was like, 'Yeah, you weren't that kind of snobby major league guy who came and wanted to big league everybody. You were just normal. You treated everybody normal.' He remembered that. And every time we'd see each other on the road we'd start talking and say 'hi' and all that stuff.

"When Mike told me a few weeks ago that we hired him, I was ecstatic, because I know the guy, I know he's a good hire, I know he's a hard worker. That's what you need."

The positive impression Perez made on Maduro carried over to the scouting side when they attend the same games.

"I think it's an outstanding hire," Maduro said. "I like the guy. I like him as a person and I like him for the way I'd see him around when I was scouting. He actually would go around and scout. He's not one of those guys who would just sit and watch and not do anything. He scouts. So, he brings a lot to the table."

Perez, as a call-in guest last night on the "Hot Stove Show" on 105.7 The Fan, shared fond memories of Maduro as a teammate.

"Calvin being a major league player playing in the independent league, obviously he was a guy who all of us minor league, independent league guys looked up to," Perez said.

"What I saw from Calvin was just a genuine, good person with a tremendous work ethic. He's a perfectionist. I remember him being a perfectionist. He needed his bullpens to go well. He needed all the little things that other people don't think about that aren't in the game, those types of little things. Very detail-oriented with it.

"Aside from that, he treated all the young guys really good. I respect Calvin a ton and he knows that."

Maduro is traveling to Colombia today. He's the only international scout for the Orioles who's based in the United States. Former minor league pitcher Luis Noel is in the Dominican Republic. The club also has a part-timer based in the Dominican and Curaçao.

More hires are coming later. There isn't a big rush to fill out a staff.

"Right now, I think because of the way he has so much information on players and the way I've been traveling over the last year and gathering information and getting all the guys that I really like, I think we have enough that we have it covered," Maduro said.

"In the future, for example 2021 and up, to get those players we're going to need some resources. But right now for 2018, '19 and '20, we are good."

* Perez indicated last night that he'd be interested in talking to former Oriole Melvin Mora, who owns a baseball academy in Venezuela and still lives in Harford County.

Mora has wanted to recommend various prospects to the Orioles, armed with video and scouting reports, but couldn't get a phone call returned. Perhaps the new regime will be more receptive.

It's not like the Orioles own a track record for developing Venezuelan players and bringing them to the majors. We continue to wait.

"I know Melvin Mora and I've seen him around the ballpark a lot in Venezuela," Perez said. "Guys like that, anytime you can talk to them and pick their brain about certain experiences, especially in a country like Venezuela, it's a good idea, so yeah, no doubt. I'd love to talk to Melvin and pick his brain on some stuff."

The Orioles inducted Mora into their Hall of Fame in 2015. He was the only impact player acquired during the 2000 roster purge, when the Orioles sent shortstop Mike Bordick to the Mets for Mora, infielder Mike Kinkade and pitchers Leslie Brea and Pat Gorman.

* Left-hander Richard Bleier continues his recovery from June lat surgery and has resumed the throwing program that he's confident will make him full-go for the start of spring training and ready for opening day.

"I'm actually kind of doing a normal offseason program at this point," Bleier said last night as the second call-in guest. "What we did was, when I started throwing I threw for about a month just to kind of test it and make sure that everything was good, and then I took about a month off and I kind of started throwing when I normally would in a regular offseason. So now I'm doing that and I'm actually reporting to Sarasota next week just so they can monitor the progression and mound work and all that stuff.

"I'm pretty far along. Honestly, at this point I'm a little bit further ahead than last year in terms of throwing and stuff. I feel pretty good about where I'm at."

This is tremendous news for a team that needs reliable arms in its bullpen.

* Infielder Drew Dosch, a seventh-round draft pick in 2013 out of Youngstown State University, announced his retirement yesterday on Twitter.

Dosch, 26, never reached the majors. He appeared in 103 games with Triple-A Norfolk last summer and batted .276/.340/.408 with 24 doubles, seven home runs and 40 RBIs. He's a career .278/.337/.398 hitter in five minor league seasons.

The Orioles left Dosch unprotected in the Rule 5 draft and he wasn't selected.

"My whole life I've always been 'Drew the baseball player,'" he tweeted. "Truthfully, I never enjoyed always having that persona attached to me. It was always my goal to break that mold. To be so much more than a baseball player. To be a great husband, brother, son, friend, student, role model (the list goes on and on). It is time for me to devote all of my time and attention to being the best that I can be to all of the things on that list.

"I have decided to retire from playing professional baseball. I would like to say thank you to my wife, my family, my friends and my teammates and coaches along the way. Every person or group in that list made my entire baseball career a positive journey that I will never forget. I've created bonds and relationships in baseball that will last me a lifetime. I appreciate all of the love and support through the years! Thank you. Drew"