Malone Has Eyes on Gillick After His Former Boss Resigns

Pat Gillick, a longtime major league executive, might soon join new general manager Kevin Malone in the Dodger organization, baseball sources said Wednesday.

In the wake of Gillick’s resignation as general manager of the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday, several sources said Malone will attempt to hire his friend. For three seasons, Malone served as the Orioles’ assistant general manager under Gillick.

The Dodgers also have received permission to speak with Bill Geivett, special assistant to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ general manager, about a front-office position, sources said. Malone declined to discuss that, but Geivett is among the front-runners to join Malone’s new management team as an assistant to the general manager.

Malone said he had not contacted Gillick about assuming a position with the Dodgers, but acknowledged that Gillick “would be an asset” to any organization that wants to win.

“Pat and I get along great, I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, and I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to speak with Pat for the right situation. He’s a proven winner, and there aren’t many people with his track record. He’s the type of person I’m looking for to help move the Dodgers forward, but there’s no deal, and we’re not close on anything.”

Gillick, 61, was the architect of the Orioles’ 1997 American League East championship team. Baltimore also made the AL playoffs in 1996, but the club struggled this season despite a payroll of more than $70 million--highest in the game’s history.

That further complicated Gillick’s already strained relationship with hands-on owner Peter Angelos, sources said, leading to his long-anticipated resignation. Before joining the Orioles in 1995, Gillick was the executive vice president of baseball operations for the Toronto Blue Jays, where teams he helped build won back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and ’93. Gillick was raised in the Southland and graduated from USC.