David Stockstill comments on his new role

The Orioles announced today that David Stockstill will officially begin in his new position as the club's director of international scouting on April 5th. Stockstill, who has headed up the O's minor league operations since November of 2004, is in Florida now and will remain there through early April to help setup the club's minor league rosters. In his new role, David will oversee all the club's international operations, including scouting in the Far East, Latin America and beyond. He will also oversee player development in the Dominican Republic. As someone who has scouted players in many different nations, it's not a big leap for Stockstill in moving into this new role in the club's front office. "I'm very happy, it's a wonderful opportunity. This has been discussed at different times and was put together over the past few weeks. It's something I'm very happy with and could not turn down. "It's nothing new but just gives me more time to spend in those areas. There is a lot of experience I've had that prepares me for this job. "We've made some progress (in international scouting) and there are still some plans being put together. It's a little early to comment on where we will put our resources." Last year the Orioles fielded one team and shared another with Milwaukee in the Dominican Summer League. This year the club will field two teams in the Dominican. Improving scouting in Venezuela is another important area moving forward. "We are now seeing players in Venezuela and that is a big step for us. Outside of the Dominican, in the big leagues, there are more players from there than anywhere else. We are trying to make more inroads there. "I was there six to eight weeks ago and saw some players. We are known there much better now and are trying to set a foundation for a future there. "As for the Dominican, we are signing better talent that we used to. We have more people seeing players there. We are seeing some of the better players." Outside of Koji Uehara, the Orioles have not signed an international player to a multi-million dollar contract and some critics says that is needed to boost Baltimore's international effort. "You have to go case by case on every player and make a decision whether to spend big money on a player. If there comes a time when a player shows us that we should do it, that will be taken into account," David Stockstill said.