For the first time in 15 years, the Portland Sea Dogs have a new general manager.
The Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox announced Thursday that Jesse Scaglion has been promoted to the position. Longtime general manager Geoff Iacuessa will continue to work for the club as team president while also taking on a regional leadership role with Diamond Baseball Holdings, which has owned the Sea Dogs since December 2022.
Scaglion, 36, is just the third general manager in Sea Dogs history. Charlie Eshbach served in the role from the team’s inaugural season in 1994 until passing the job to Iacuessa in 2010. Eshbach remained with the Sea Dogs as team president until 2018 and passed away in 2022.
“(Scaglion) has a lot of ideas on how to improve the fan experience,” Iacuessa said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do.”
Scaglion, whose wife, Emma Tiedemann, is the play-by-play voice of the Sea Dogs, joined the ballclub in 2021 as Director of Ticketing. Scaglion also oversaw all aspects of Sea Dogs merchandise. Prior to coming to Portland, Scaglion worked for the Lexington Legends, a Single-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. In Lexington, he served as director of corporate sales before a promotion to chief operating officer.
“This whole thing was out of the blue,” Scaglion said, “but it’s something I’ve done before.”
Scaglion takes over general manager responsibilities as the Sea Dogs continue construction on a new home clubhouse and the ballpark undergoes its first name change, Delta Dental Park at Hadlock Field, after the club signed a 10-year naming rights agreement with Delta Dental last fall. The new clubhouse might not be ready for the start of the season.
“It’s definitely come a long ways. A lot of hard work has gone into it,” Scaglion said of the new clubhouse, which will be behind seats down the left-field line. The current clubhouse, beyond the right-field wall, will be converted into a visitors clubhouse.
New Delta Dental signs will be going up soon, he said, and the Sea Dogs will soon unveil a phone app that will enable fans to collect rewards points for team events and prizes.
In his new role, Iacuessa will work with Scaglion and the general managers of Diamond Baseball Holdings’ ballclubs throughout the Northeast. Diamond Baseball Holdings owns 41 minor league baseball franchises across the country. Along with the Sea Dogs, DBH also owns the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Portland’s biggest rival and Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, as well as Boston affiliates Worcester (Triple-A) and Salem (Low-A).
“It’s something we’ve talked about for a while. It’s a new challenge, and a good next step in my career,” he said.
Iacuessa began working with the Sea Dogs as an intern in 2001 and was named director of group sales prior to the 2002 season. In 2004, he became the team’s director of sales and promotions, and in 2006 added assistant general manager to his duties.
The Sea Dogs are scheduled to open the 2025 season at Reading on April 4. The first home game is April 8 against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
Comments are not available on this story.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
