Lee Pelekoudas, Bob Engle to be retained by M's

An air of uncertainty exists around the Mariners' offices these days, and for good reason.

New general manager Jack Zduriencik has been given a free hand to reshape the baseball operations department. Just a few days into the job, he's making it clear that change is in the wind.

On Tuesday, the Mariners announced the firing of scouting director Bob Fontaine and the hiring of two members of Zduriencik's staff in Milwaukee, Tony Blengino and Tom McNamara.

Fontaine, who had one year remaining on his Mariners' contract, had been informed of his dismissal on Monday.

Also on Tuesday, the Mariners announced that Lee Pelekoudas, who served as interim GM for 3 ½ months after Bill Bavasi was fired, will be retained by Zduriencik, as will Bob Engle, their vice president of international operations since 2000.

However, it was not announced what role those two will hold, or what position Blengino and McNamara will have on Zduriencik's staff.

"Exact titles for Tony and Tom will be determined once the structure of our department is finalized," Zduriencik said.

Engle, who has brought in players like Felix Hernandez, Jose Lopez and Ryan Rowland-Smith while directing the Mariners' international scouting, admitted he's somewhat in limbo.

"I've been in this business a long time," he said. "I've always been a company guy. Loyalty, dedication and hard work are the ingredients of being successful. We'll see how it unfolds."

Engle, who interviewed for the GM position, said he looks forward to working with Zduriencik, a longtime acquaintance.

"We've had several conversations the last couple of days," Engle said. "Everything is very positive. He comes out of a good baseball background. I'm sure he'll try to get things done right and moving in the right direction, and hopefully I'll be a part of it."

Pelekoudas is likely to serve as an assistant general manager to Zduriencik, as he was to Bavasi. Though Pelekoudas wasn't retained in the GM position after serving as interim GM, he was widely expected to remain in the organization for his 30th season.

"You never take anything for granted," Pelekoudas said. "I've been through a lot of changes, and the new man has the liberty to make whatever changes he feels necessary. Hopefully, my service and work here speaks for itself, and I'm grateful Jack sees that I can contribute to the organization."

Blengino, 45, has spent the past six years with the Brewers, the last three as assistant scouting director under Zduriencik. Blengino will be among the staff accompanying Zduriencik to next week's general managers' meetings in California.

McNamara, 43, served as a Mariners area scout from 1994 to 2000, covering the Northeast, and played one season (1988) in their minor-league system. He has 15 years experience in scouting, most recently as Milwaukee's East Coast crosschecker.

Blengino and McNamara are likely to be Zduriencik's only hires from Milwaukee. Brewers GM Doug Melvin said the Mariners agreed not to raid the Brewers' staff, and he in turn allowed Zduriencik to take two of his top assistants with him.

"We cleared that up early," Melvin said by phone from Milwaukee. "I said, 'Let's be upfront early. Give me two names you want, and that's pretty much it. We have to do our business, too.' "

In a conference call with reporters, Fontaine was gracious, saying he had no hard feelings and understood Zduriencik's decision.

"These things happen," he said. "I've enjoyed my time here tremendously. [Mariners CEO] Howard [Lincoln] and [team president] Chuck [Armstrong] treated me and my family very, very well."

Fontaine, a veteran of 36 years in baseball, the last five with Seattle, added that he's looking forward to hooking on with another team.

He also said he would pass on to the new staff all his scouting notes for the upcoming draft, in which the Mariners select No. 2 overall.

"Everything I have is here, and if they call me in three weeks and need something more, I'd be happy to cooperate with the new person that comes," Fontaine said. "I like to think I'm a professional, and that's the right thing to do."

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com