Red Sox set to hire Rays executive for high-ranking front office role
The Red Sox are adding some new voices and fresh blood to their front office. Boston is set to hire Tampa Bay Rays director of predictive modeling, Taylor Smith, to a high-ranking role that will be focused on analytics, according to Sean McAdam and Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com.
The exact title that Smith will hold with the Red Sox is not exactly known, but it’s likely he will become a vice president/assistant general manager.
Smith has been in the Rays’ organization the last seven seasons and will become the highest-ranking external hire by chief baseball officer Craig Breslow since he was hired ago.
Smith is a 2018 graduate of the University of Georgia and is expected to take over the responsibilities related to analytics that were held by assistant general manager Mike Groopman. The Red Sox are expected to have Groopman focus on player acquisition.
If Smith is indeed hired an assistant general manager, he’ll be one of five high-ranking front office members with that title, joining Groopman, Raquel Ferreira, Eddie Romero, and Paul Toboni.
Smith was hired by the Rays in May 2018 as an analyst in the research and development department. He was promoted to director of predictive modeling in December 2021, and in that role, he “oversees the organization’s player valuation models and provides mentorship and oversight to baseball research and development staff,” according to Tampa Bay’s media guide.
Prior to working with the Rays, Smith was an intern for the Dodgers. He graduated UGA with joint bachelor’s and master’s degrees in statistics and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 2018.
The hiring of Smith is not expected to be the only big changes to the Red Sox front office. Breslow intends to hire a general manager, and Toboni is currently the leading candidate for that role, according to Cotillo.
