The Dodgers have hired Gerry Hunsicker to be the Senior Advisor of Baseball Operations, according to an official release from the team.

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today hired Gerry Hunsicker as Senior Advisor, Baseball Operations. Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti made the announcement.

“Gerry brings a wealth of senior level experience and knowledge that will assist baseball operations at all levels,” said Colletti.

Hunsicker will assist Colletti and President and CEO Stan Kasten with the Dodgers’ big league club while also lending his expertise to international scouting and development, pro scouting and minor league development. The 2013 season will be the Houston resident’s 35th in Major League Baseball.

I had heard rumors floating around that he was available and that the Dodgers were in the lead for his services, but wow, it’s a surprise that they ended up landing him.

Not sure exactly why he was available, but if it was a major issue, I assume we would have heard about it, so just enjoy the fact that he’s on board.

Hunsicker previously served as the Tampa Bay Ray’s Senior Vice President, Baseball Operations, a position he held since November 2005. Hunsicker was part of principal owner Stuart Sternberg’s new management group and was a key figure in reshaping their baseball operations into the successful department it is today. With the Rays, Hunsicker was instrumental in helping to create significant presence in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Brazil. In 2009, he also oversaw the Rays expanded efforts in Asia and Europe.

With the new owners’ renewed emphasis on international scouting, he will surely be a welcome addition in that department.

The rest of the resume is impressive as well, but I especially like the fact that he was the Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations for the Rays, basically brought on to help out Andrew Friedman. That’s sort of the direction I prefer the front office to go in, which makes it even weirder that Ned Colletti remains in charge. At least in the sense that Colletti seems to be surrounded by quality baseball people, either inherited from previous regimes or brought on by the new owners, but he’s the only one that doesn’t appear to fit in the puzzle.

Hunsicker began his career in baseball in 1978 and his experience spans four decades, including nine seasons as Astros General Manager from 1996-2004. Under Hunsicker, Houston posted the sixth-best winning percentage in the Majors during that period (.544, 793-665), set a franchise record with 102 wins in 1998 and reached the postseason five times in nine seasons. Hunsicker was named Sporting News Executive of the Year in 1998 and the core he assembled of Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman, Brad Ausmus, Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens won a National League title before falling to the White Sox in the 2005 Fall Classic. He also spent seven seasons in the New York Mets organization as Director of Minor League Operations (1989-90), Director of Baseball Operations (1991) and Assistant Vice President of Baseball Operations (1992-95).

The Collegeville, PA, native received his bachelor’s degree from St. Joseph’s University, where he played baseball and was named to the All-Mid-Atlantic Conference team. He holds an M.S. in management from Florida International University and also served as the school’s Assistant Athletic Director and Assistant Baseball Coach from 1975-78. Hunsicker has been honored with inductions into the St. Joseph’s Athletic Hall of Fame and the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame and also received the Torch Award of FIU, which recognizes distinguished alumni from the university.

Perhaps in some of our dreams he could be a fallback GM option in case they decide Colletti is no longer the future? Probably not, but it would provide options … or hope.

Either way, there’s little downside to getting more quality baseball minds in the front office, regardless of what you think of the current GM. Undoubtedly, this should improve the Dodgers’ decision-making, and it’s another sign that the owners understand that it’s not just player payroll that needed attention, but quality personnel as well.

The richest man in Los Angeles, Patrick Soon Shiong, has joined up with Steven Cohen‘s Los Angeles Dodgers ownership group.

Patrick Soon-Shiong, the richest man in Los Angeles, has joined the Dodgers bid group led by hedge-fund billionaire Steven Cohen.

The alliance is the strongest indication yet of Cohen’s intention to present outgoing owner Frank McCourt with a final bid that reflects prominent local support rather than just overwhelming East Coast money.

If McCourt were to accept the Cohen bid, he would be rejecting one led by local icon Magic Johnson. Soon-Shiong has held several meetings with McCourt since the Dodgers were put up for sale in November, according to people familiar with the process.

Soon-Shiong had been widely expected to join the bid group led by Johnson, from whom he bought a minority share in the Lakers two years ago. Soon-Shiong’s decision to join Cohen was confirmed Sunday by two people familiar with the sale process but not authorized to comment.

That’s a gigantic win for Cohen, not only because of the money Soon Shiong brings, but because of Soon Shiong’s local roots, which was a significant criticism of Cohen’s group.

So while Dodgers fans are apparently dancing with visions of being the West Coast version of the New York Yankees, here’s some potentially terrible news about Cohen’s group’s involvement with Tony La Russa.

There’s just one problem with Tony La Russa becoming a key decision-maker for the Los Angeles Dodgers if Steve Cohen succeeds in buying the club.

La Russa is such a strong personality, his presence might diminish the Dodgers’ chances of hiring one of the top current general managers, according to rival executives.

The next owner of the club could retain GM Ned Colletti and give him the chance to operate with a payroll greater than $90 million, the Dodgers’ figure this season. But if the owner wants his own man, an incoming GM might balk at working for La Russa, who has zero front-office experience.

All of this is speculation; the bidding is not nearly complete. But, as rival execs see it, a GM such as the Tampa Bay Rays’ Andrew Friedman or Arizona Diamondbacks’ Kevin Towers likely would not leave their current situations for limited autonomy in L.A.

Yeah … barf.

Ned Colletti already had his chance with a payroll of more than $90 million dollars, and I think we all remember what he did with it.

La Russa being an obstacle to somebody like Andrew Friedman coming to the Dodgers just says it all. Money is great, but I prefer the correct baseball people being put in place over most everything else. I’d rather have Friedman with a $125 million payroll than Colletti with a $200 million one, that’s for sure.

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With Cohen’s addition of Soon Shiong, it’s widely accepted that they are now the favorites, and Maury Brown has an awesome detailed breakdown of the four remaining groups at Baseball Prospectus.

Basically, as has been previously covered, the Magic Johnson/Stan Kasten group is the best fit in terms of overall monetary bid, front office experience, and local ties, but the amount of cash equity is unknown. Cohen’s group offers a ton of cash equity and he solved the local ties problem with the addition of Soon Shiong. However, his company’s insider trading investigations is a red flag and what they seem to be planning to do on the baseball side of things is horrifying.

Both have their pluses and minuses, and it’s becoming increasingly apparent that they are the main players.

The race is really coming down to two groups in Magic/Kasten and Cohen. The distance for the other two, along with cross-ownership concerns, is likely enough to move Kroenke and Heisley/Ressler out of the picture. As a result, it seems as though it’s going to boil down to the bankruptcy court and Frank McCourt.

McCourt has a chance to go out a winner in selecting the Magic/Kasten group. While the cash piece is critical, unless it is so far out of skew as to not be competitive, it would be smart to take the goodwill and operational excellence that comes with Magic/Kasten, which is head and shoulders above the others in this regard. By the same token, if the deal is structured closely to Cohen’s, MLB needs to push for the same. There’s every reason to want the Magic/Kasten group in place, and who knows? If the Mets continue to slide into the abyss, the league might be able to have their cake and eat it too. Magic/Kasten could own the Dodgers and Cohen could land his more favored Mets.

Taking everything into consideration, an ever so slight edge is going to Cohen winning the day. While it may not be the best ownership group at the moment, the group does seem the most likely to be destined for a win. In that, Magic/Kasten could have by far the best winning—yet losing—group in the mix.

Not the best or the smartest, but the one with the most money.

Not the start I would want.