Brandon Gomes, a former major league pitcher just six years removed from his playing days, has been named general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a position left vacant since Farhan Zaidi's departure to the San Francisco Giants.

Gomes, 37, has a long history with Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who originally traded for Gomes when he served as GM of the Tampa Bay Rays in December 2010.