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Latest On Diamondbacks’ Front Office

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With chief strategy officer Tony La Russa losing his hold on the Diamondbacks’ baseball department and Dave Stewart now out as general manager, the club is set for its fourth regime change in six-plus years. That lack of stability has some executives around the majors wary of working for the organization, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.

“Do they give the next person a six-year contract and come hell or high water they’re not going to fire them?” one rival exec asked Piecoro. “Or have they demonstrated this is how they do business and if things don’t work out in 24 -36 months they’ll make more changes? Moving your family for that level of insecurity, juxtaposed to the security that some of us have — that’s a tough sell to the family.”

One potential GM candidate whose name has come up in other teams’ searches informed Piecoro his interest in taking over the Diamondbacks would be “zero” because of “some of the dysfunction up there.” Other executives Piecoro spoke to are also leery of the job, with some expressing concern over the personalities of owner Ken Kendrick and CEO Derrick Hall. The latter signed an eight-year contract extension in August, so any new hire(s) will have to coexist with him and Kendrick for the long haul. Despite that, Hall doesn’t expect the team to have difficulty finding executives willing to take the helm in Arizona.

In regards to GM jobs, Hall said Monday, “There’s only 30 of these. And they’re special jobs and there are a lot of qualified people out there who are looking for that opportunity. We’re hoping the next person is in that role for a long time and that will be expressed.”

Another rival executive backed Kendrick and Hall, saying, “Listen, you have to be skeptical with that amount of turnover. But absolutely, 100 percent, you can win there with those guys.”

In a move that could perhaps help scare off potential hires, Diamondbacks ownership reportedly blocked a trade that would have sent struggling right-hander Shelby Miller to Miami over the summer. Nevertheless, Hall is content with the organization’s decision-making structure.

“It’s very common with all 30 clubs, where if you’re going to have a large decision to make, a very big decision, an impactful decision, it’s going to go all the way up the flagpole and everybody is going to weigh in, whether it is the owner of any ballclub – the owner, president, GM, all opinions are going to be weighed at that time,” said Hall. “It’s a matter of allowing people to do their jobs but also weighing in when there’s a matter of extreme importance, which I think is not uncommon anywhere.”

Stewart didn’t speak negatively of either Kendrick or Hall after his dismissal. However, Stewart did reveal that he and Kendrick “were oil and water” in terms of their personalities. On whether the franchise was too quick to ax Stewart after hiring him in September 2014, Kendrick offered, “Since Dave Stewart was hired two years ago, there have been 16 general managers hired. Sixteeen. What does that tell you? It’s a tough business” (Twitter link via Piecoro).

Stewart’s successor could be someone with past Diamondbacks experience, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, who points to Brewers scouting director Ray Montgomery as a “natural strong candidate” (Twitter link). The 47-year-old Montgomery was previously the D-backs’ scouting director from 2010-14.

Dave Stewart Discusses End Of Tenure With D-Backs

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The Diamondbacks ousted Dave Stewart from the GM seat yesterday, bringing his tenure to an end after just two years. Stewart discussed his feelings on the matter with Bob Nightengale of USA Today, who described the scene yesterday as chief baseball officer Tony La Russa informed his long-time friend that he’d no longer be with the organization.

That order, of course, came from above La Russa’s head, with managing partner Ken Kendrick and president/CEO Derrick Hall deciding it was time to move on. La Russa’s own fate remains to be determined, but he won’t control the organization’s baseball operations any longer.

Stewart expressed little in the way of regret, explaining that he believes he ought to have been retained but also that he will land on his feet. After all, the long-time big league hurler has compiled a rather varied resume following his playing times. Most recently, before heading to Arizona, he served as a player agent.

“Quite frankly,” said Stewart, “I’ve got better things to do.” Just what those things will be isn’t clear yet. “I just got to figure out what to do next,” said Stewart, “but really, I’ll be just fine.”

What Stewart won’t be doing is airing grievances against the Arizona organization. While he acknowledges that he was “angry” when he left the Blue Jays organization 15 years ago after being passed over for an open GM seat, Stewart says that he’s “not angry this time.” Instead, he said, it’s “almost a relief.” And though he and Kendrick “were oil and water,” Stewart says that was just a reflection of personality differences; he does not “have anything bad to say about” the D-Backs owner.

 

 

As for the state of the roster and farm that he leaves behind, Stewart expressed optimism. “This team will be back,” he said. “They’re not far away at all.” Asserting that he stands by his work at the helm of the baseball ops department, Stewart suggested that it may take some time for the fruits of his labor to become obvious to the rest of the game. “You may not know it for a couple of years,” he said, “but you will.’’

 

Tony La Russa Won’t Run D-Backs’ Baseball Ops; Future With Org Uncertain

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The Diamondbacks continued a massive organizational overhaul today, firing GM Dave Stewart and manager Chip Hale after previously parting ways with VP DeJon Watson. Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa remains with the team at this point, but as MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports, he’ll no longer run the team’s baseball operations department.

A new decisionmaker — whether a president of baseball operations, general manager, or both — will take over the reins in molding the team’s roster. At this point, it’s not known when or how the organization will go about filling the void, but president and CEO Derrick Hall says that the new hire will be expected to put greater emphasis on analytics.

Statistical analysis was one of several areas that observers have cited in criticizing the most recent iteration of the D-Backs’ oft-changing front office mix. La Russa was brought on as CBO in hopes that he’d oversee a successful organizational decisionmaking structure, but things haven’t turned out as hoped (as detailed in the post on the firing of Stewart and Hale). In the statistical arena, La Russa has been openly skeptical of the role of analytics, and raised many eyebrows with his hiring of long-time acquaintance — and first-time baseball front office man– Ed Lewis as director of baseball analytics and research.

Arizona’s top brass — Hall, who just inked an eight-year extension, and managing general partner Ken Kendrick — claimed a share of the responsibility for the failings. But they suggested that it was necessary “to turn the page and hit reset and see if we can’t get going in the right direction,” as Hall put it, by starting fresh with a new GM and manager. Per Kendrick, the organization “did not see the trend line at present moving in the right direction.”

Whether La Russa will be a part of the reshaped front office is an open question that was apparently not fully resolved in a lengthy meeting this morning (as Jon Heyman of Fan Rag notes on Twitter). Talks will continue as to what, if any, role may make sense for the Hall of Fame manager, whose foray into the D-Backs’ front office was his first in that capacity.

Diamondbacks Fire Dave Stewart, Chip Hale

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The Diamondbacks have announced that they’ve fired GM Dave Stewart and manager Chip Hale. There was no immediate word on whether the Snakes intended to retain chief baseball officer Tony La Russa. “We are still discussing what the appropriate role for Tony La Russa will be going forward,” Kendrick said in a statement.

The decision on Stewart comes as little surprise, as it had previously been reported that owner Ken Kendrick was slated to meet with La Russa today to discuss the statuses of both Stewart and La Russa, both of which seemed to be in jeopardy. Hale’s departure, meanwhile, will allow Stewart’s successor to be involved in choosing a replacement.

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The Diamondbacks hired Stewart in September 2014, so his tenure with the team was very short for a GM. During that time, however, the team’s front office made a number of questionable moves, chief among them the trade that sent 2015 first overall pick Dansby Swanson, along with outfielder Ender Inciarte and pitcher Aaron Blair, to Atlanta for starter Shelby Miller and minor leaguer Gabe Speier. Miller has struggled terribly thus far in Arizona, posting a 6.15 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 101 Major League innings in 2016. Swanson, meanwhile, made it all the way to the big leagues in just his second pro season and played well, batting .302/.361/.442 down the stretch for the Braves.

Perhaps just as important as the actual result of the deal was the view of player valuation it represented. Swanson alone would been a very steep price to pay for Miller, since Swanson was a premium prospect who had done nothing to sully his status as a former top overall pick. Stewart’s approach was also widely questioned earlier in his tenure after a less consequential deal in which he traded Bronson Arroyo and another former first-round pick, Touki Toussaint, to Atlanta for Phil Gosselin in a deal designed to clear about $10MM in Arroyo’s salary from the Diamondbacks’ books.

The Diamondbacks hoped to position themselves as contenders for 2016, not only acquiring Miller but also signing Zack Greinke to a massive $206.5MM deal. Greinke was serviceable but underwhelming for Arizona, posting a 4.37 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in his first season there. The Diamondbacks also suffered a number of other setbacks (beginning with a costly injury to star outfielder A.J. Pollock) and they won just 69 games, miles below expectation. (Stewart himself had gone so far as to say preseason projections that the team would win 78 or 79 games were “a joke.”)

Earlier in his tenure, Stewart’s Diamondbacks also signed Yasmany Tomas to a $68.5MM deal that, so far, has led to underwhelming results. The 25-year-old Tomas did bat .272/.313/.508 this season, but struggled so much defensively that his value was limited. For his career in the big leagues, Tomas has -1.2 fWAR.

Not all of Stewart’s moves have been unsuccessful. He acquired shortstop Jean Segura in a swap that has worked out well so far, and his trade for Robbie Ray has also mostly been a success. On balance, though, his decisions have arguably left the organization in worse shape than when he took office. While others share significant responsibility for some of those moves — the Greinke signing, in particular — there are many questions with the organization’s direction.

The process, even more than the decisions themselves, has come under fire since La Russa took command and hired Stewart. Arizona took a notably different approach from the get-go, but increasingly it seemed that the unique operating philosophy was not only potentially problematic in its own right, but also came with other concerns. ESPN.com’s Keith Law detailed a long list of missteps, some of which reflected an apparent failure to grasp rules and contemporary valuation principles. That includes the mismanagement of draft and international funds, such as the bonus pool-busting signing of Yoan Lopez — which cost Arizona a chance to acquire other talent to add a prospect who outside observers aren’t terribly fond of.

Now that change is afoot, a new dugout chief will also be sought — presumably, after the baseball ops department is sorted out. Hale, after all, was the hand-chosen skipper of La Russa and Stewart, though they may not have ended up being supporters. Reports suggested that Arizona’s ownership group intervened to prevent La Russa and Stewart from sending the now-former skipper out of town earlier this summer.

That proved only to be a temporary hold, though, and Hale will wrap up his first stint in charge of a dugout after a rough 2016 campaign. His original contract only promised two years — both of which are now in the books with a 148-176 overall record — but also included an option year. The organization exercised that provision at the outset of spring camp this year, so Hale will be entitled the guaranteed money.

It isn’t immediately clear what led to Hale’s dismissal beyond the fact that it affords a clean slate. But whatever the particular internal considerations were in this case, it’s not often that a manager survives the kind of season that the D-Backs just wrapped up — in which sky-high expectations (whether or not they were reasonable) went entirely unmet.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

D’Backs Expected To Soon Decide On La Russa, Stewart

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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.

West Notes: Scully, Hudson, Rockies, Bridich, Angels, M’s

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Vin Scully signed off for the final time today, ending his incredible career with one final Dodgers vs. Giants matchup.  All of us at MLB Trade Rumors join the rest of the baseball world in tipping our caps to Mr. Scully, the greatest to ever call a baseball game.  We wish him all the best in a very well-deserved retirement.  Here’s some news from around both the NL and AL West…

  • The Diamondbacks will talk to free agent reliever Daniel Hudson this winter about a possible return, GM Dave Stewart told reporters, including Jack Magruder of FanRag Sports (Twitter link).  Stewart discussed the possibility of extending Hudson last June, though also came very close to dealing the right-hander at the trade deadline.  Hudson finished the year with a 5.31 ERA over 59 1/3 bullpen innings, though his solid peripherals (3.89 FIP, 4.20 xFIP, 3.92 SIERA) indicate Hudson’s ERA was inflated by his .333 BABIP and very low 61.7% strand rate.
  • The Rockies were within reach of a wild card spot at the trade deadline but stood pat, ultimately faltering over the last two months of the season and finishing at 75-87.  MLB.com’s Thomas Harding revisits the decision from GM Jeff Bridich to not make any moves, since while there were some good reasons (such as Trevor Story’s season-ending injury) for Bridich to resist buying for a playoff run, it could indicate an over-reliance on Colorado’s internal talent.
  • There don’t appear to be any changes forthcoming to the Angels coaching staff, manager Mike Scioscia told reporters (including MLB.com’s Austin Laymance).
  • The Mariners will consider all of their free agents and club option players, GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters, though MLB.com’s Greg Johns believes “only a couple” will return to Seattle in 2017.  Outfielder Seth Smith is likely to have his $7MM club option exercised, while the M’s could pass on Chris Iannetta’s $4.25MM club option since it’s a fairly high price for a backup catcher.  Of the free agents, Adam Lind will likely be let go while outfielders Nori Aoki and Franklin Gutierrez could be better fits to be re-signed.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Fernandez, Phillies, Diamondbacks, Ventura

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Here’s the latest from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, via a video:

  • Some in the media have suggested MLB create an award named after departed Marlins ace Jose Fernandez to honor the player who best exhibits passion for the game, but Rosenthal says the establishment of such an award appears unlikely. MLB feels it already has awards that don’t command enough attention. The league could pay tribute to Fernandez at next year’s All Star Game at Marlins Park, however.
  • The Phillies have plenty of financial flexibility next season, but (as has been reported elsewhere) they aren’t likely to sign players to long-term deals this winter. The reason, Rosenthal says, is that don’t want to block any of their better prospects. For a rebuilding team, acquiring veterans in the wrong sorts of situations can have opportunity costs, as Rosenthal points out. He notes, for example, that the Phillies (whose GM, Matt Klentak, previously worked in the Angels organization) could have pursued former Angel Howie Kendrick last offseason. But doing so would have prevented the team from giving playing time to Cesar Hernandez, a younger player who has had a solid season for the Phillies in 2016.
  • The Diamondbacks are likely to look for new executives to head their front office this winter, but they could have trouble finding candidates with significant experience. Assuming the team does fire Dave Stewart, they will have dismissed three GMs in six years, also including Josh Byrnes and Kevin Towers. Team president and CEO Derrick Hall has been with the Diamondbacks throughout those firings and recently received a new eight-year contract.
  • There have been reports that the White Sox plan to retain manager Robin Ventura, but offering Ventura a new deal might simply be a way for the White Sox to spare him the indignity of firing him. Rosenthal says he is still hearing that Ventura is frustrated with the job.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Top 5 Bright Spots Of 2016

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Rebuilding season or not, falling short of the playoffs and finishing with a losing record probably means that more things went wrong than went right for a team. This series, however, will focus on those silver linings that each team can take away from an otherwise disappointing season.

[Related: “Top Bright Spots” archive]

Here are the biggest bright spots for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

1. Jean Segura, 2B

The offseason trade that sent Dansby Swanson, Ender Inciarte and Aaron Blair to the Braves for Shelby Miller was heavily criticized at the time and looks even worse now. It’s a deal that has cast a dark cloud over Dave Stewart’s tenure as the Diamondbacks’ general manager. Unfortunately, it will also overshadow any good moves that he has made, especially the acquisition of Segura—Chase Anderson, Aaron Hill and Isan Diaz were traded to the Brewers in the deal—less than two months later.

While Anderson has had a solid season in the Brewers’ rotation and the 20-year-old Diaz put up huge numbers in Low-A ball, Segura bounced back from back-to-back poor seasons with one that is worthy of at least a handful of MVP votes. An impressive .320 batting average with 201 hits, 40 doubles, 20 homers and 32 stolen bases has the 26-year-old, who is under contract for two more seasons, heading into 2017 as one of the top middle infielders in baseball.

2. Yasmany Tomas, RF

As recently as late July, it was easy to lump Tomas’ six-year, $68.5MM deal in with other recent moves that hadn’t quite panned out. Tomas had a subpar rookie season in 2015 and, after a strong start to the 2016 season, was in the midst of a two-month long slump (.641 OPS, 5 BB, 52 K from May 26th thru July 23rd) when something finally clicked.

Since July 24th, the 25-year-old has been one of the elite sluggers in the game with a .934 OPS, 17 homers and 12 doubles in 225 plate appearances. It’s great timing, too. With an abundance of hitting talent on the D’backs, not enough at-bats to go around and Tomas’ trade value on the rise, American League teams with a need at DH—Tomas is a bad defensive outfielder—should have plenty of interest.

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Minor MLB Transactions: 9/27/16

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Here are a few of the latest minor moves from around the game, courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy:

  • The Orioles have brought back righty Franderlyn Romero, amongs other minor league re-signings. Romero, 23, hasn’t exactly prospered since joining the Baltimore organization in an early-season international signing slot swap. The 23-year-old moved up to the High-A level for the first time with his new team, but gave up 96 hits and posted a 6.16 ERA in his 76 frames there, with 6.4 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.
  • The Diamondbacks will take a chance on 25-year-old Mexican southpaw Armando Aguilar on a minor league deal. Per Eddy, Aguilar is a lefty specialist who was quite stingy against same-handed hitters, posting 9.2 K/9 and a 0.99 WHIP in fifty appearances this year for the Mexican League’s Leones de Yucatan.

Rubby De La Rosa To Undergo Stem Cell Treatment In Bid To Avoid Tommy John

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Diamondbacks righty Rubby De La Rosa will receive a stem cell injection tomorrow, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports on Twitter. The hope is that the treatment will allow him to stave off what would be a second Tommy John procedure.

De La Rosa’s rehab has been something of a rollercoaster: he was able to return briefly, then seemed destined to be shut down, and then seemed like he might be headed back to the major league mound by the end of the season. Now, the situation seems a fair bit more dire than had previously been suggested.

Stem cell and other alternatives to surgery have increasingly been utilized by pitchers hoping to reinforce, rather than replace, their ulnar collateral ligaments. The risk of a TJ procedure failing to produce the desired results is heightened significantly in the case of a second trip under the knife, so the stakes are high in De La Rosa’s case.

Given the timing, a TJ procedure in the near-term would clearly keep De La Rosa out for all of 2017. Second-time UCL replacement recipients tend to take longer to make it all the way back, though he’d at least be reasonably likely to make it back for ’18.

De La Rosa is due a raise — though it won’t be a large one — on his $2.35MM arbitration salary. He’s set for free agency before the start of the 2019 campaign, so the next two campaigns are the final ones of team control for Arizona.

All said, then, there’s a lot riding on De La Rosa’s ability to return. Over his 50 2/3 innings this year, he worked to a useful 4.26 ERA and also showed quite a bit of promise with a rising 9.6 K/9. That makes De La Rosa a critical part of the D-Backs’ rotation picture.

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