The French Baseball and Softball Federation (FFBS) announced on Thursday that they have signed former Major Leaguer Eric Gagné as new head coach of the senior national team. The 37-year-old Canadian will come to France from September 9 to 12 and will be officially introduced. He already worked for the French national team in the past, serving as pitching coach during the World Baseball Classic Qualifier in Jupiter, Florida last November.

Gagné was signed by as an amateur free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995. He reached the big leagues in 1999 and was considered as one of the best closers in the game during his prime years between 2002 and 2004. He won the Cy Young Award with the Dodgers in 2003, going 2-3 with a league-leading 55 saves and an ERA of 1.20. In 2007 he won the World Series with the Boston Red Sox. Overall he had an ERA of 3.47 with 187 saves through ten years in Major League Baseball.