Former Phillie Raúl Ibañez returns to Dodgers in front office role

Raúl Ibañez returns to the Dodgers front office. (Rich Kane/Icon Sportswire)

The Los Angeles Dodgers have added former Phillie Raúl Ibañez to their front office, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.

Ibañez, 51, will serve as the team’s vice president of baseball development and special projects. He spent the last three seasons in the commissioner’s office as part of the team that spearheaded the implementation of the pitch clock and other major rule changes in 2023. His official title was senior vice president of on-field operations.

This is Ibañez’s second stint in the Dodgers front office. He was previously a special assistant in the baseball operations department from 2016 to 2021.

Ibañez was once seen as a hot managerial candidate, but he turned down the chance to pursue multiple openings in 2019. He was a finalist for the Tampa Bay Rays’ job in 2014, but withdrew his name from consideration.

The 19-year MLB veteran spent three seasons with the Phillies from 2009 to 2011. His 2009 campaign was arguably the best season of his career. At age 37, Ibañez slashed .272/.347/.552 with 34 home runs and 94 RBIs in 134 games with the Phillies, who went on to win a second straight NL pennant.

Ibañez quietly became one of the most influential voices in baseball during his time in the commissioner’s office. Ibañez, along with executives Theo Epstein and Michael Hill, monitored the rule change experiments in the minor leagues that led to the addition of the pitch clock and the shift ban in 2023.