DODGERS: WATSON IS NEW HEAD OF PLAYER DEVELOPMENT.

Byline: TONY JACKSON Staff Writer

The Dodgers named DeJon Watson their new director of player development on Tuesday, ending a search that began when Terry Collins left the organization earlier this month to become manager of Japan's Orix Buffaloes.

Watson, who spent the past three seasons as Cleveland's director of professional scouting and personally scouted major-league clubs on the West Coast, inherits one of the deepest and most talent-laden minor-league systems in baseball.

``Let's be honest, it's not like this is broken,'' Watson said. ``We have some great players here. It's just a matter of keeping the chains moving. I'm not coming in there to recreate the wheel. They have a great system in place, and we'll just continue to grow what we already have in place.''

Watson, 40, is a Baldwin Hills native and former standout player at West Los Angeles Community College. He will be running a minor-league system for the first time, but his scouting background is extensive and includes a three-year stint as director of amateur scouting for the Cincinnati Reds from 1998-2000, during which he drafted current big-league standouts Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns.

``DeJon's breadth of experience will add to the organization's strength in developing talented players,'' Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said in a statement released by the club. ``He is strong on the fundamentals of the game, and his ability to evaluate talent has led to a record of solid big-league drafts. He will be a valuable addition.''

Watson said he plans to hire a minor-league field coordinator, a role Collins filled himself but for which most farm directors hire someone else. He also will need to hire a manager for the Dodgers' top minor-league affiliate, Triple-A Las Vegas, to replace Jerry Royster, whom Collins let go last month.

``I'm excited,'' Watson said. ``I have been on the player procurement side of things for so long and done just about everything I could possibly do there, so I'm looking forward to the new challenge.''

Watson and scouting director Logan White, who was involved in the interview process and whose department is credited with stocking the Dodgers' system with all that promising talent, know each other well.

``The thing that excites me is that he is really positive with the players,'' White said. ``He has a good scouting background and was a good scouting director, and he has been around the development side and been around a lot of good people.''

Colletti chose Watson over three other candidates, including Boston special assignment scout Marc DelPiano. The other two candidates -- Double-A Jacksonville manager John Shoemaker and minor-league operations administrator Chris Haydock -- were in-house.

Watson was an outfielder/first baseman at West Los Angeles CC before being drafted by Kansas City in the third round. He spent five years in the minors without being called up, then began his scouting career with Florida Marlins in 1991 . He lives in the Phoenix area.

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