Johnny DiPuglia, who led the Nationals’ international scouting department for a decade-plus before his departure late in the 2023 season, has joined the Royals’ front office.

Kansas City announced this week it has hired DiPuglia as special assistant of international scouting, adding one of baseball’s most respected Latin American evaluators to its staff.

DiPuglia’s new position is not as high-ranking as his previous one with the Nats was. He’ll report to Royals senior vice president of major league and international operations Rene Francisco. But it’s nonetheless a prominent landing spot for the 60-year-old, who surprisingly found himself looking for work this offseason.

Initially hired by the Nationals in 2009, DiPuglia was one of the organization’s longest-tenured employees and one of general manager Mike Rizzo’s most-trusted confidants. Tasked with overseeing a Latin American program that was in disarray following a scandal involving the falsifying of supposed top prospect Esmailyn Gonzalez’s name, age and playing ability, he helped turn the operation around during his 15 years in charge.

DiPuglia’s most notable achievement with the Nats was the discovery and signing of teenage outfielder Juan Soto, but he signed a number of other young Latin American prospects who reached the big leagues, including Victor Robles, Luis García, Joan Adon, Jose A. Ferrer, Wander Suero, Reynaldo López, Wilmer Difo, Jefry Rodriguez and Israel Pineda. Among the homegrown Latin American prospects still in the Nationals’ farm system are Jeremy De La Rosa, Cristhian Vaquero and Andry Lara.