Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick is expected to meet with chief baseball officer Tony La Russa on Monday, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports. A decision about the future of La Russa and GM Dave Stewart could potentially be made at the meeting itself, though if not, a final call should be coming relatively soon. Team president Derrick Hall confirmed to Heyman that a Kendrick/La Russa meeting was probably happening Monday, though he didn’t note if he or Stewart would also attend.
For Stewart’s part, the general manager told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic) on Sunday morning that he hadn’t been told by club management about when to expect a decision on his future. In a text to Piecoro, Hall said that there would be a sitdown meeting with La Russa and Stewart before any final decision was made, which could represent Monday’s get-together.
The club parted ways with senior VP De Jon Watson a couple of weeks ago, and as Piecoro writes, “many around the game” feel the D’Backs will make changes simply due to the fact that this evaluation of their top baseball execs has gone on for over a month. Stewart’s contract included a 2017 option that was supposed to be exercised by the end of August, though D’Backs upper management held off until the end of the season.
In a radio interview on Sunday, Hall acknowledged that something had to give. “We can’t drag this on….We’ve got to improve this ballclub, and we have to have a plan going into the offseason,” Hall said. “So we’ll make a decision quickly. It’s awkward for these guys to sit around and wait. It’s not good for anyone.”
Despite the high-profile offseason additions of Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller, the Diamondbacks finished the season with a 69-93 record, the seventh-worst mark in baseball. Subpar years from both pitchers, especially Miller, certainly played a part, as did a lack of help from the rotation as a whole, a very shaky bullpen and A.J. Pollock spending almost all of the season on the DL. Combined with pre-existing criticisms about how La Russa and Stewart have handled the team’s prospects and international signings, there is indeed a case for the D’Backs to make a change. On the flip side, as Stewart notes to Piecoro, the management team has only been in place for two years, so they could deserve more time to see things through.
That photo
Like they don’t already know what they are doing. As a dbacks fan please for the love of god get rid of them.
Leave the gun-take the cannolis. I mean leave TLR. And fire Stewart.
Why keep TLR when he signs off on ALL of the moves?? Sounds about right
LaRussa has to go. He cannot do the job. That is obvious. Clean house.
Stewart and La Russa are the biggest idiots in baseball I don’t even know why we are debating this. Get rid of them
Why do they keep Hall he is the idiot who keeps hiring morons. Clean house all of them!
LaRussa for whatever reason has this aura of knowledge around him. But he’s always been a glamour manager basically. He’s the guy a team gets when they have vets aiming for a deep playoff run. He’s worlds apart style wise from Lou Pinella, but same framework of glamour manager. LaRussa gets a lot of credit for other peoples work…Sandy Aldersons…his St. Louis front office…you can even make a claim that PEDs deserve credit.
I don’t understand the TLR love or enshrinement in baseball genius-dom. Guy rides on his reputation only. The old time writers love that he still does hit and runs and throws in a double switch three times a game. Read “Three Nights in August” and get the experience of Buzz Bizinger fellating TLR for 320 pages
I’ve read it, and other books dealing with LaRussa. I always walk away with the impression that LaRussa is never as cutting edge as he portrays…George Will loved him. But things like batting the pitcher in the 8 hole….profound…that’s a run a season possibly. LaRussa won when he had superior players on the field. He had a phenomenally talented A’s roster.
I agree with Zack. Name two bigger idiots running a team then these two clowns
The 2 bigger idiots running a team are John Mozelak and Mike Mathaney. Along with their pitching coach Derrick Lilliquist, and their hitting coach John Mabry. Any manager and general manager that has over 90 different starting line ups in a season doesn’t have a clue what he is doing as a manager!!!!
Then you must acknowledge Bob Melvin, Kirk Gibson and Chip Hale as terrible managers, too.
Let me get this straight. The Diamondbacks have a 20-year old stadium with a retractable roof and a swimming pool, but want a new one that is “state of the art”. Yet they are the last team to really grasp the blend of scouting and analytics, which is “start of the art”.
Keith Law’s expose on the Diamondbacks’ front office was pretty damning, as are most of the trades they’ve made.
As much as I don’t care for TLR’s persona, I don’t mind him as the CBO, but Dave Stewart has to go.
It’s pathetic how they want a new stadium. I can see why Texas needs a new one since it’s fairly old and they need a roof, but still, that’s even a little aggressive. Phoenix could easily lose the dbacks without much backlash, so if they threaten to leave if the tax payers don’t buy it, they should just let them.
I will never likely defend LaRussa, but I will say that Keith Law damns everything, its like a security blanket for him. He didnt do so hot himself in Toronto
I guess you can be of the “anyone else is better” mindset, and frankly I couldn’t fault you for that, but unless they plan to replace either/both of them with a competent FO person, then it doesn’t matter all that much.
If they plan to gut and replace their FO, and don’t already have candidates in mind, they should probably get on this pretty quick, unless you want to stick the new gm in a bad spot to start his tenure.
New GM should trade Tomas to AL for number 2 starter. Also sign Hamels as a FA. Then trade Owings for fastballing relief pitcher. Pitching staff then will be fine. Zack Hamels Archie Miller Corbin and maybe strike throwing Koch.