Don Welke leaving the Rangers to join San Diego front office

Senior Special Assistant to the General Manager Don Welke is leaving the Rangers organization to join A.J. Preller with the San Diego Padres, according to Evan Grant.

Grant says that, although the Rangers and the Padres agreed that Preller would not hire any members of the Rangers organization for at least two years, the Rangers are letting Welke join Preller in San Diego because of the close relationship the two have.

After the 2009 season, there was a reorganization -- some might say a purge -- within the Rangers' front office, with the core insiders being Jon Daniels, Thad Levine, Scott Servais, Preller, and Welke.  Of that group, only Daniels and Levine still remain.

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