Nats bolster scouting department with hiring of Orioles' Ciolek

The Nationals are adding another experienced name to a revamped scouting department, hiring Brad Ciolek away from the Orioles to serve as senior director of amateur scouting, a source familiar with the move confirmed.

Ciolek spent 12 of the last 13 seasons with the Orioles in a variety of roles, most recently as director of draft operations. Owner of a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in computer information systems, and having spent a year working as an analyst for Bloomberg Sports, he brings an analytical background to a Nats scouting department that appears to be making an effort to bolster that area.

In D.C., Ciolek will hold a title not previously held by anyone in the front office. He’ll work for recently hired vice president of amateur scouting Danny Haas, who replaces longtime head of scouting Kris Kline, who is moving into a new role as a special assistant to general manager Mike Rizzo.

Haas, who came from the Diamondbacks, previously worked for the Orioles with Ciolek, so the two are being reunited in Washington, tasked with overhauling an amateur scouting department that has produced few notable big league players in recent years.

Ciolek first joined the Orioles in 2011 as a player development intern at their spring training complex in Sarasota, Fla. He left after one year to work for Bloomberg Sports but returned to Baltimore in 2013 as scouting administrator, advancing to assistant director of scouting, supervisor of domestic scouting operations and ultimately director of draft operations the last two seasons.

In his most recent role, Ciolek oversaw all facets pertaining to the amateur draft, including scouting logistics and administration. In addition to scouting players across the country in person, he also supervised a team of scouting analysts and managed the Orioles’ signing bonus pool for the MLB Draft.

The Athletic’s Keith Law was first to report Ciolek’s hiring.