Brandon Gomes named general manager among front office moves
by Rowan Kavner
The Dodgers announced multiple front office moves Tuesday, including the promotion of former Vice President, Assistant General Manager Brandon Gomes to General Manager.
In addition, the Dodgers promoted Alex Slater to Vice President, Assistant General Manager, Brandon McDaniel to Vice President of Player Performance and Thomas Albert to Head Athletic Trainer. Damon Jones has also joined the Dodger front office as Vice President, Assistant General Manager & Baseball Legal Counsel.
Gomes, 37, becomes the 12th general manager in Dodgers history and the first since Farhan Zaidi departed to become the Giants’ President of Baseball Operations in November 2018. Gomes originally joined the Dodgers in 2016 as the coordinator of pitching performance following a 10-year professional career as a pitcher, including five seasons in the Majors.
His quick ascension in the Dodger front office saw him become Director, Player Development in December 2017 and VP, Assistant General Manager in March 2019. Gomes, who graduated from Tulane University in 2007 with a double major in finance and legal studies, will continue to focus on the Major League club in his new role while working alongside President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman.
“I’m thrilled to announce the promotion of Brandon to General Manager, as he has been an integral part of our success since joining the Dodgers in 2016,” Friedman said. “I look forward to our continued partnership as we strive for another World Championship.”
Jones joins the Dodger organization after spending the last two seasons as the Washington Football Team’s General Counsel. A Harvard Law School alumnus, Jones has more than 20 years of experience as a sports, entertainment and media attorney, including 13 seasons with the Washington Nationals organization as Senior Vice President & General Counsel. Jones also has a playing background. The former UC Santa Barbara baseball player was selected to the 2020 UCSB Intercollegiate Hall of Fame as the Distinguished Gaucho.
Slater joined the Dodgers organization in 2014 as Senior Manager of Pro Scouting the same year Friedman was named President of Baseball Operations. A year later, Slater was promoted to Assistant Director of Scouting. In 2017, Slater assumed the role of Director of Baseball Operations. A UC Berkeley alumnus, Slater has been in Major League Baseball for 14 seasons. He served in the San Diego Padres’ pro scouting department as a Baseball Operations Assistant from 2009–14.
McDaniel enters his 10th season at the Major League level and first as Vice President of Player Performance after serving as Director of Player Performance from 2019–21. His previous titles included Strength and Conditioning Coach (2013) and Head Strength and Conditioning Coach (2014–18). He originally joined the Dodgers in 2012 as Strength Coach for Triple-A Albuquerque.
Albert, now in his 11th season in professional baseball, previously served as the Dodgers’ Assistant Athletic Trainer from 2016–21 before his promotion to Head Athletic Trainer. He earned his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from A.T. Still University and spent four seasons with the Cleveland Indians as Medical/Rehabilitation Coordinator (2012–15).
