Diamondbacks To Announce New GM On Thursday

Here’s the latest on the Diamondbacks’ search for a new GM following the recent removal of Kevin Towers from that role.

SEPTEMBER 22:

• The Diamondbacks will announce their new GM on Thursday, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter links). Dave Stewart is the heavy favorite for the job, although DeJon Watson is still under consideration. The team will also be promoting scouting director Ray Montgomery, according to Nightengale. In a third tweet, Nightengale says it wouldn’t be far-fetched to see Stewart named GM, Watson hired as an assistant GM, Montgomery promoted and Towers retained in a senior scouting capacity.
• Nightengale also tweets that while a decision won’t come until after the season, a managerial change appears likely given the team’s poor performance.
• Jon Heyman of CBS Sports writes that Stewart, Watson and former Royals GM Allard Baird are the three finalists and runs down some of the qualifications of each candidate.

Earlier Updates

• Gary LaRocque will remain in his current position as the Cardinals’ farm director, the team confirms to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link).
• The “strong industry belief” is that Dave Stewart will be hired as the Diamondbacks’ new GM, though Gary LaRocque may also join the organization in some capacity, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (Twitter links).  LaRocque is also still a candidate for the GM job and he and Stewart may be the final two names in contention.

SEPTEMBER 19:

• The Diamondbacks completed the GM interview process today, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert tweets.

SEPTEMBER 17:

• Angels pro scouting director Hal Morris did not advance to the second round of interviews, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times (on Twitter).

SEPTEMBER 16:

• Watson has made it through to the second round and is considered a finalist, Heyman reports. One or two other candidates are expected to join him for final consideration.

SEPTEMBER 14:

• Dave Stewart will have an interview for the job this week, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets. Rosenthal had previously reported that Stewart might be a key candidate for the position, but that Stewart could not demonstrate overt interest in it unless he thought he could get it, since he might risk losing his clients as a player agent.
• Tony La Russa is nearing a decision on the finalists to replace Towers with the first round of talks possibly ending by the middle of this week, baseball sources tell MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. Discussions have involved ten candidates, who Gilbert lists as: Allard Baird, Larry Beinfest, Billy Eppler, Gary LaRocque, Thad Levine, Ray Montgomery, Hal Morris, Tim Purpura, Dave Stewart and De Jon Watson. 
• The Diamondbacks requested and received permission from the Yankees to speak with Eppler, but Gilbert reports Eppler declined the opportunity for a formal interview because of his commitment to the Yankees.  Eppler told La Russa he only interviewed for the Padres’ opening because he is a native of the San Diego area.

SEPTEMBER 13:

• Eppler will not interview for the Arizona GM job, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets. Rosenthal also notes that Stewart will decide next week whether he’s interested in the position.

SEPTEMBER 10:

• Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine is also now in the running, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Levine drew some early mention as a possible candidate for the Padres’ recent GM opening, though the club ultimately decided only to interview one member of the Texas organization: A.J. Preller, the man who ultimately took that job.

SEPTEMBER 7:

• CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes that Beinfest met with the team on Saturday. MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert also notes (via Twitter) that the Diamondbacks’ candidates include former Astros GM and current Rangers executive Tim Purpura, and Heyman writes that the Diamondbacks will speak to Purpura this week. Another candidate is Red Sox player personnel director (and former Royals GM) Allard Baird, Gilbert writes.

SEPTEMBER 6:

• Two more candidates have turned up in the Diamondbacks search, tweets Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Larry Beinfest and De Jon Watson are the newcomers. That brings us to seven candidates, with Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa expected to interview about ten people. Beinfest, the former GM of the Marlins, was also on the Padres list, while Watson is an assistant GM with the Dodgers.

SEPTEMBER 5: 

• Candidates for the position include player agent Dave Stewart, Cardinals exec Gary LaRocque, Diamondbacks scouting director Ray Montgomery, Angels director of pro scouting Hal Morris, and Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler, Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona writes. Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall says the team would like to hire its new GM by the end of the season.
• Stewart is trying to sell his agent business and intends to take a front office job, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports tweets, noting that it’s not clear whether that’s the Diamondbacks job.
• Of course, Stewart does say that he wouldn’t leave his agent business for a job with anyone but Tony La Russa and Kevin Towers, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. (The Diamondbacks have offered Towers a scouting job instead of the GM position, but it’s currently unclear whether he’ll stick with the organization.)
• La Russa says that the Diamondbacks will decide by the end of the season whether they’ll retain manager Kirk Gibson, Bob Young of AZCentral.com reports. “I think everybody involved doesn’t want to go into offseason without understanding what future holds,” says La Russa. “Definitely, by time we get to end, something will be decided.”