More on Perez, Maduro and expanded interest internationally

The process of hiring Koby Perez as the Orioles' senior director of international scouting began immediately after the Winter Meetings and appeared to wrap up as the warehouse shut down for the holidays. Scout Calvin Maduro was given the news a few weeks ago, with the announcement coming on Wednesday.

Perez, calling into the "Hot Stove Show" on 105.7 The Fan, said executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias contacted the Indians upon returning from Las Vegas seeking permission to set up an interview. The usual channels, which led to one of the most important hires since Elias took over as the head of baseball operations.

"It was a pretty easy interview just because Mike and I know each other from back when we worked together for the Cardinals," Perez said.

Possessing so many connections in Latin America and having a previous residence in the Dominican Republic were a few of the important factors that landed Perez the job.

"In my opinion, it's really important to have those relationships with those agents and those countries," Perez said. "I've been doing it with them for 10 years and we dealt with other players in the past and we understand each other really well. Everyone respects each other. And by having those relationships and connections, a lot of times you'll be able to get a first or early crack at players throughout all of Latin America."

Perez must really like a challenge, because the Orioles are miles behind other teams internationally and closing the gap won't happen overnight.

"I think it's a good opportunity to try to get something started good here," he said. "Fortunately, Mike is going to be very supportive. The fact that he has done some international work, is well-respected in the international market. They know him, they know who he is. And Mike stated to me that he's going to be there to help the whole step of the way, even making trips down to Latin America with myself.

"Things like that go a long way in those countries, knowing your top decision-maker is going down there and really focusing in on those countries."

You won't get a timeline out of Perez, or anyone else in the organization. Another example of being on the same page.

"Anything good takes time," he said. "I'm not sure there's such a thing as a quick fix. I think you can expedite it a little bit, but internationally, we're signing kids so young that it takes time to even know who they are. But hopefully, we'll put ourselves on the map there with the good players that we're going to get.

"One of the things we want to do is we want to hire the right people. We want this to be a long-term program here where we're able to get the ball rolling and make it a solid foundation for talent acquisitions for the Baltimore Orioles.

"I know we're going to take our time with making sure we get the right people in place and making sure that we acquire the best talent that we can."

Maduro remains in very good standing in the organization despite the magnitude of the changes around him. In fact, he's in position to wield more influence under Perez now that the Orioles are committed to spending on the international market. His recommendations on Latin American talent are less likely to go ignored.

Left-hander Alexander Ayala of Panama is a shining example. The Orioles reached agreement with Ayala on a six-figure bonus - first reported by The Athletic and confirmed here - with the approval of Elias and assistant scouting director Brad Ciolek.

As one person in the organization put it, "We are not holding back."

I wrote yesterday about Maduro's friendship with Perez blossoming while they were teammates with the Newark Bears in 2003. Perez appreciated how Maduro didn't come across as arrogant or standoffish, that he didn't behave as though the Atlantic League was beneath a former major league pitcher.

Here they are now, reunited again in Baltimore. It's a small baseball world.

"That's key is how you treat people because the circle comes back around to bite you," Maduro said. "I know a lot of guys in the big leagues that treat other people bad and the other people they treat bad become assistant GMs, directors or GMs and they want a job and they can't get a job because of what they did a few years back.

"My grandfather always told me treat people the same as you want to be treated. They treat you bad, show them that you're better."

Perez naturally is on board with a heavier reliance on analytics than previously seen in Baltimore. There's a way to mix them with standard scouting practices.

"There's so many things like TrackMan and Blast Motion and some of these things we use to get information that we can't do with the naked eye," Perez said. "Not using things like that, there's no reason not to. It's just extra information. I don't think it makes a decision for you, but I think using it to find out more information definitely gives you an advantage."

Catcher Austin Wynns can be counted among the Orioles who are open to an expanded usage of analytics, as promised by Elias, who drove home the point by hiring Sig Mejdal as an assistant.

"We have to improve," Wynns said. "We have to improve and get better and that's one of the areas we need to get better in. I'm looking forward to learning more about that. It's going to be a fun, interesting season and I'm looking forward to what comes with it."

Former catcher Rick Dempsey, an analyst on MASN, said analytics were incorporated during his playing days. This isn't completely new territory. But there are other aspects of the team that need to be upgraded.

"I truly believe if we get our pitchers and catchers on track that we can be 100 times better than we were last year. You've got to understand the game, you've got to be able to read hitters," he said.

"It's good to have the analytics because we actually had more of an analytical approach back in my day with all the guys that I worked with than we have now. I love the analytics. That's fine. But it just proves that what we were doing was right back in our day.

"You're hurting yourself if you don't teach these pitchers and catchers how to communicate together and how to handle a game and the things to look for."

Dempsey is willing to offer instruction to anyone who wants it, as long as the Orioles give their approval. And he won't accept that they're destined to keep losing for the foreseeable future.

"I'll work with anybody who wants to learn how to win baseball games," he said.

"We're in a position here that I truly believe that the kids ought to be really elated about. They were the worst team in baseball, but they have a chance to do something that no team has ever done, lose 115 and come back and win their division. I'd be pretty excited about that. And there's a way to do it and it's how to think your way through a ballgame.

"I'd be excited as hell to be able to play on this team next year if I was a player because I'd have an opportunity to do something that's never been done in baseball, somebody losing that many games and come back and win, go from worst to first. Oh, my God. We've got enough talent. It's just, everybody's got to get on the same page and realize how many mistakes they keep making and stop making them. And that momentum can get going like you can't believe. It can happen. It really can happen.

"I don't want to hear people say, 'Oh, we're going to be in last place, we're going to lose 100 ballgames next year and for the next five years.' No, it doesn't have to last that long. It depends on every one of those players doing that kind of job where you've got to play together. You've got to do a lot of the little things. You have to be able to read that opposition and be able to make the kind of adjustments that we didn't make for the last couple of years. It can happen. It's very possible. But you've really got to work hard at it. You've got to commit yourself to the game of baseball."

Wynns is buying into it. All the easier to bury the 2018 season one shovelful at a time.

"Yeah, it was tough, it was tough, but at the end of the day, do your piece and then everything else will have to fall after that," Wynns said.

"It was definitely tough. It hard to swallow, for sure, but this upcoming year will be an improvement and we will be better. We will be better."