Ben Cherington, who also has been a senior vice president and assistant general manager, will move over from his duties overseeing scouting and player development into Hoyer's role, which has been more on the major league personnel side. Cherington and Hoyer were named co-general managers in December, 2005 when Epstein briefly left the organization. Cherington, like Hoyer, has been considered a prime candidate for several major league general manager openings.

Farm director Mike Hazen and scouting director Jason McLeod will expand and continue their roles without Cherington's supervision. Epstein relies heavily on both international director of scouting Craig Shipley -- also a candidate for several general manager vacancies -- and former Royals general manager Allard Baird, who serves as director of pro scouting as well as a special assistant to Epstein.