White Sox hire David Keller to run international scouting department

The White Sox have made a quiet addition to their scouting staff.

According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the organization recently hired David Keller of the Mets to run their international scouting department. Keller’s title will reportedly be special assistant to the GM, per Sox Machine’s James Fegan.

There’s not a lot of information on Keller outside of a 2019 article published by the Dock Mennonite Academy, where he previously attended. In the piece, it says Keller received his first scouting job thanks to A.J. Hinch.

Through his work for the [Camden] River Sharks, Keller got to meet A.J. Hinch, the [former] manager of the Houston Astros who at the time was running the farm system for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hinch eventually hired Keller for his first scouting job. “I felt like I had the leadership ability and skills I wanted to continue to grow and develop, but I felt like I needed to learn how to evaluate [talent],” he says.

In 2009 Keller joined the Mets as a scout, then two years later was hired by the Boston Red Sox. He scouted for the Sox for three years, including a World Series championship experience in 2013. He then joined the Miami Marlins and was eventually named Director of Pro Scouting. After three “long and interesting years,” Keller was fired for the first time in his life—but less than a year later, he was back with the Mets as a pro scout, the position he holds currently. 

Based on a tweet from MLB insider Jon Heyman, it appears Keller was hired back by the Mets in 2017. He is currently listed as a “Special Assignment Scout” on New York’s staff directory.

The addition of Keller comes after the White Sox parted ways with Marco Paddy, who was in his 12th season as the head of international operations. Paddy was named International Scout of the Year in 2022 and played a key part in landing Luis Robert Jr. during his tenure. However, the lack of success with other high-profile international prospects has been a glaring issue as of late, ultimately resulting in the change several weeks ago.

It will be interesting to see what further moves are on the horizon with Keller now at the helm. Nightengale reports the well-respected scout will be “one of GM Chris Getz’s top confidants,” so he will likely have some input on the staff moving forward.

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Featured Photo: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports