Detroit Tigers hire Shane Farrell as director of player development

The Detroit Tigers have hired Shane Farrell , who spent the last five seasons as the Toronto Blue Jays' director of amateur scouting, as the organization's director of player development.

Farrell, 35, seems likely to work closely with assistant general manager Ryan Garko in overseeing the player development department.

The Tigers — led by president of baseball operations Scott Harris and general manager Jeff Greenberg — won't formally announce Farrell as a newcomer to the organization until later in the offseason, but the hire has been finalized.

MORE ABOUT GARKO: How Ryan Garko is transforming Tigers prospects with player development department

Farrell is the son of John Farrell , the former pitcher and manager who started two games for the Tigers in 1996 to conclude an eight-year MLB career with three teams. Later on, the elder Farrell managed the Blue Jays (2011-12) and Boston Red Sox (2013-17).

That's not the only connection to the Tigers.

More importantly, there is a previous relationship between Harris, Greenberg and Farrell from working together in the Chicago Cubs' front office. Harris worked for the Cubs from 2012-19 in a variety of roles, most notably as an assistant general manager; Farrell worked for the Cubs from 2012-19 in the scouting department as a scouting assistant, area scout and crosschecker.

"Tremendous hire," said one person who has worked with Farrell. "The Tigers just got a big win."

With the Tigers, Farrell is making a notable change by transitioning from the scouting department to the player development department for the first time in his career. But the move isn't entirely surprising, considering both Jaron Madison and Matt Dorey made the same switch from scouting to player development while in the Cubs' organization with Harris.

In May 2024, the Tigers promoted Garko — the leader of the player development department for the past three years — to assistant general manager , which opened the door for a new farm director.

As for the newcomer, Farrell joined the Blue Jays in January 2020 following eight seasons with the Cubs.

Not only did Farrell oversee the Blue Jays' amateur scouting process, but he also collaborated with the high performance, research and development and player development departments to enhance information sharing and help players transition into the minor-league system.

Before the Blue Jays, Farrell worked for the Cubs from 2012-19. He started as the amateur scouting assistant in 2012, then graduated to area scout in 2017. He finished his tenure with the Cubs as the west coast crosschecker.

Aside from his father, Farrell has ties to the baseball community through three other family members.

Shane is the grandson of Tom Farrell , the younger brother of Jeremy Farrell and the older brother of Luke Farrell . Tom pitched three seasons in the minor leagues from 1953-55; Jeremy played eight seasons in the minor leagues from 2008-15 and works as the senior director of player development for the Cincinnati Reds; Luke pitched six seasons in the major leagues with five teams from 2017-22.

The Blue Jays selected Shane in the 46th round of the 2011 draft out of Marshall University, with the No. 1,399 overall pick, but he never appeared in a professional game.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers hire Shane Farrell as director of player development