Jed Hoyer, who joined the Red Sox in 2002 and was one of the co-general managers during Theo Epstein’s brief absence, has been named the GM of the San Diego Padres.

The 35-year-old Hoyer emerged as a favorite immediately after Padres CEO Jeff Moorad fired Kevin Towers during the last weekend of the regular season.

Moorad has said he wants a more “strategic approach” from his GM. Towers was known more as a seat-of-the-pants GM who built four NL West winners during his 14 seasons as GM, and had his 1998 club reach the World Series, where it was swept by the Yankees.

oyer will face the same obstacle Towers faced through the years – a payroll significantly smaller that baseball big hitters. The payroll for next season will probably be in the $40 million range.

This is the second time Moorad has hired a Red Sox assistant GM. When he ran the Diamondbacks, Moorad hired Josh Byrnes as general manager in October 2005.

Hoyer was hired by the Red Sox as assistant to the GM following the 2003 season. He was later promoted to assistant GM, and later was given the title of senior vice president.

Good luck, Jed. With a $40 million payroll set for next season, nobody is expecting much. Personally, I’d use that money to flee to South America.

Most of us aren’t familiar with Kim Ng, the Assistant General Manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that Ng recently interviewed for the position of San Diego Padres General Manager, now vacant after the firing of Kevin Towers. Although Ng is one of various candidates, that isn’t stopping Dodger enthusiasts from speculating what could happen to their team if Ng were to leave.

Ng has interviewed for other general manager positions before and isn’t necessarily the favorite to get this one (which incidentally could make her the boss of her former boss at the Dodgers, Padres executive vice president Paul DePodesta, who is not a candidate for the job). But she certainly has a fan club in Los Angeles that holds its breath each time she talks to another team.

Is there any chance Ng could ascend in Los Angeles? Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti and the Dodgers have a mutual option for 2010, and after winning three division titles and two National League division series in four years, Colletti’s return for 2010 (and perhaps years to come) would seem to be a formality. What could disrupt it?

Colletti is the general manager, but he doesn’t work alone. He has Ng, he has assistant general manager/scouting Logan White, he has a host of scouts and advisors, and he also no doubt has the McCourts weighing in on the biggest deals. (Manny Ramirez, anyone?) Yes, in most player transactions, the buck has stopped with Colletti since the end of 2005, but we really don’t know how much of the past four years is uniquely Colletti.

If Ng leaves, I’ll fear the Dodgers have lost a great executive. But I’ll console myself with how well the Dodgers have done under the current regime, and with the knowledge that Ng deserves her moment in the sun, wherever that sun is determined to shine.

Before joining the Dodgers organization, Ng was the Assistant GM for the Yankees, and worked in the White Sox front office before that. If Ng were to land the coveted position with the Padres, Ng would become the first female General Manager in the history professional sports. Still, her chances are slim as Jed Hoyer, assistant GM of the Red Sox, is viewed as the favorite.

In the end, Colletti will receive a contract extension next year. While Ng has a positive reputation throughout the MLB, I doubt she’ll get the job in San Diego. Unless the Dodgers completely collapse over the next two seasons, she will remain as their Assistant GM. Unfortunately, if she really wants to become a GM of a big league club, she’ll have take a similar position to the one she already has with another team. There, she’ll have to wait till the front office becomes dissatisfied with their current GM. With Ng’s past experience and determination, she’d naturally get the gig. However, I doubt Ng has the patience for this strategy.