Dipoto “Likely” To Remain With Diamondbacks
4:46pm: Fanhouse's Tom Krasovic reports that Dipoto is likely to remain within the Diamondbacks organization.
Towers met with Dipoto for four hours and came away with a great impression and respect for the interim GM. He's told Dipoto that he'd like him to remain in the organization as the team's vice president of scouting and player development. Towers also said he liked the trades made by Dipoto in his run as general manager, and feels that Dipoto will be a permanent GM someday.
The decision is up to Dipoto now, but according to Krasovic, indications are strong that he will accept the position sometime within the next ten days.
9:23am: When the Diamondbacks gave their vacant general manager job to Kevin Towers earlier this week, interim GM and long time executive Jerry Dipoto informed the team that he would not remain with the club and move on. He may be changing his mind, however, as sources tell FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi that Dipoto and the D-Backs are in discussions to keep him in the organization in a "high-level position." One source even said the odds of him remaining were as high as 80%.
Club president Derrick Hall didn't offer a prediction as to whether Dipoto would return or not, but he is known to have a "great affinity" for him. Dipoto's familiarity with the organization could ease Towers' transition period. Morosi says that Dipoto could choose to remain if he buys into Towers' plan because he knows at some point another GM job will come his way. The Mets are far and away the most likely club to be looking for a new GM this offseason.
One industry person told Morosi that Towers and Dipoto have different philosophies when it comes to assessing talent. In his ESPN chat earlier this week (Insider req'd.), Keith Law said that Towers' strength was "big league trades" while his weakness was "the draft and the farm system." He then called Dipoto "an excellent choice [at GM] for a team looking to rebuild its farm system through the draft," and said "he's a very open-minded guy with a strong interest in using data to increase the effectiveness of his team's scouting efforts."
Odds & Ends: Church, Ortiz, Thome, Beltre
On this date in 1998, the Angels signed Francisco Rodriguez as an international free agent. K-Rod, as he would later be nicknamed, saved 208 games in his dominant seven-year stint with the Angels, striking out 587 batters in 451.2 innings. Now a member of the Mets, Rodriguez is on the disqualified list after a Citi Field altercation led to a season-ending injury and lots of time in court. Here are today's links…
- Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail told Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he may start talking with the team's free agents before they're allowed to start negotiating with other clubs.
- Ryan Church told Andrew Pentis of MLB.com that he’d like to return to the Diamondbacks in 2011. The outfielder is a non-tender candidate after a lackluster season.
- David Ortiz told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he won't feel as comfortable next season if he's not on a multi-year deal. Big Papi has been hinting at an extension for a while, but the Red Sox can simply exercise his $12.5MM option if they'd prefer not to commit to Ortiz beyond 2011.
- Jim Thome told Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that he’s planning on playing again in 2011. If the Twins win it all, however, Thome says he would be tempted to retire.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com predicts (on Twitter) that Adrian Beltre will end up with the Angels and Jayson Werth will end up on the Red Sox.
Odds & Ends: Loux, Uribe, Dipoto, Cubs, Phillies
Links for Thursday night, following Juan Uribe's two-homer, six-RBI inning….
- Barret Loux had a second throwing session for scouts today, according to Brian McTaggart and Jeff Seidel of MLB.com. The Astros, Marlins, Rangers, Cubs, Twins, Giants, Brewers, Phillies and Mariners watched the free agent first-round pick throw between 50 and 60 pitches.
- Uribe's 2010 performance should give him a handful of options in free agency this winter, tweets ESPN.com's Buster Olney.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff isn't sure that Jerry Dipoto is the right person for the Mets' GM job, even if Dipoto were available.
- Jim Hendry tells Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune that Greg Maddux will remain in the Cubs' organization next year. Upon being hired as Arizona's GM, Kevin Towers suggested that he'd like to put Maddux on the Diamondbacks' payroll. The four-time Cy Young winner is flattered by the interest, writes Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
- Hendry also conducted his second official interview in his search for the Cubs' next manager, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. Ryne Sandberg is the latest candidate to interview with Hendry, after Eric Wedge did so last month.
- MLB.com's Todd Zolecki breaks down some of the key roster moves that have led to the Phillies' NL-best record this year.
D’backs Notes: Padres, Maddux, Towers
New Arizona GM Kevin Towers told reporters yesterday that he intends to get to know the existing D'Backs front office within the next couple of weeks. But after decades in the game, he has lots of connections of his own and some of them could end up in Arizona. Here's the latest on which former Padres people Towers may add to the Diamondbacks front office:
- Towers has targeted Padres scout Bill Bryk and assistant GM Fred Uhlman Jr, according to Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse.
- Towers told Bob Nightengale of USA Today that he'd like to hire Greg Maddux as the team's next bench coach or pitching coach. "I told Greg two years ago as soon as you want to be on the field please make me the first call," Towers said. The bullpen will be a priority for Towers, who signed Maddux as a free agent twice.
- MLB.com's Fred Claire says the GM-manager combination of Kevin Towers and Kirk Gibson provides the D'Backs with the "detail-oriented, passionate" leadership the organization needs. I'm willing to take Claire's word for it, since he was Gibson's GM in Los Angeles and worked opposite Towers as Dodgers GM early in Towers' tenure with the Padres, from 1995-1998.
Dipoto Will Not Return To Diamondbacks
6:36pm: Arizona is still holding out hope that Dipoto will stay in the front office, tweets Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Kevin Towers plans to talk to Dipoto this week, according to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic.
12:54pm: Jerry Dipoto, Arizona's interim GM since July, will not return to the Diamondbacks organization. Kevin Towers is the team's permanent GM, so Dipoto informed the D'Backs that he'll move on, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic also reported that Dipoto would likely resign (all Twitter links).
Dipoto, 42, was a big league reliever for eight seasons. He spent two of those years with the Mets, one team that could be looking for a GM this offseason. Dipoto, who began the year as Arizona's vice president of player personnel, has interviewed for GM jobs in Seattle and Washington.
Dipoto traded Dan Haren, Edwin Jackson, Chad Qualls and Chris Snyder away in July, creating payroll flexibility and acquiring Daniel Hudson, Joe Saunders and others.
Towers To Prioritize Bullpen, Bench
Kevin Towers says he’d like to see next year’s Diamondbacks team surprise people just like this year’s Padres team did. But only two clubs have lost more games than the Diamondbacks this year, so the new Arizona GM has some work to do. And Towers knows which areas of his new club he'll be targeting first.
“The focus will probably be primarily on the bullpen this winter, as well as the bench,” Towers told reporters via conference call.
That isn’t to say that the entire ‘pen will be turned over, but the Diamondbacks will consider every possible avenue as they look to improve upon an MLB-worst 5.82 bullpen ERA. Towers said he’ll explore major league free agency, minor league free agency, international options and the Rule 5 Draft in search of better production.
Towers gets credit for assembling the Padres bullpen, which has an MLB-best 2.85 ERA this year. Replicating that success in the desert “really boils down to good scouting and good evaluations,” Towers said. In particular, Towers’ scouts will be instructed to look for big pitchers (potentially starters who fit best in the ‘pen) with good fastballs and “plus” secondary pitches.
The Diamondbacks will also look to acquire starting pitching depth this winter; until then, Towers is familiarizing himself with the team and his new staff. After 14 years in San Diego, Towers has many connections in the Padres front office and didn’t rule out the possibility that he might bring some of his former Padres employees to Arizona.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Adam LaRoche
Earlier in the summer, Adam LaRoche and the Diamondbacks had preliminary discussions about an extension, but that was before the D’Backs hired current GM Kevin Towers. It’s still possible that the D’Backs work out an extension with LaRoche under Towers, but it seems more likely that LaRoche will hit free agency (assuming both sides don’t exercise his $7.5MM mutual option for 2011). Here’s the outlook for LaRoche this offseason:
The Pros
- He’s a consistently productive hitter, and has now combined 20 or more homers with an OPS of at least .775 in all seven of the seasons he’s played since becoming a starter.
- LaRoche has generally stayed healthy, averaging 145 games per season in that seven-year stretch.
- As a likely Type B free agent, he won’t cost a draft pick.
- He doesn’t turn 31 until November, so his skills probably aren’t about to fade.
The Cons
- Though he has traditionally been a strong second half player, LaRoche is slumping badly and has just three extra base hits this month.
- He’ll join a group of free agent first basemen that includes Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko, Carlos Pena, Lance Berkman, Derrek Lee and Lyle Overbay. Teams looking for first basemen will have lots of selection this winter.
- LaRoche drew limited interest from other clubs when he cleared waivers this summer.
The Verdict
LaRoche signed for $6MM last year after hitting .277/.355/.488 with 25 homers. He now has a .260/.321/.460 line with 23 homers and a career high 93 RBI. The numbers are similar this year and the market remains flush with first basemen, so a similar one-year $6MM deal seems likely for LaRoche.
Olney On D’Backs, Hinch, Martin, Werth
Now that the Diamondbacks have hired Kevin Towers to be their new GM, their priority is to assemble an improved bullpen, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. Olney says it’s likely that the Diamondbacks will part ways with one or two of their hitters this offseason, because their lineup strikes out so much. Here are the rest of Olney’s rumors:
- Former Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch joined the Padres scouting department because he believes they have a “good pro scouting staff in place with some building to do.”
- Rival GMs believe Russell Martin will have some trade value if the Dodgers decide to move him (Twitter link).
- Multiple talent evaluators tell Olney that they see Jayson Werth as a distant second to Carl Crawford among free agent outfielders (Twitter link).
Diamondbacks Name Kevin Towers GM
The Diamondbacks officially announced that Kevin Towers will be the team's new executive vice president and general manager. Towers gets a two-year deal plus options that could keep him in Arizona for longer, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown, who broke news of the agreement. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Towers won't earn close to $2MM, as he did with San Diego, but escalators could boost the value of his salary (Twitter link).
Towers, who now works for the Yankees, took over the Padres after the 1995 season and led the team until about a year ago, when he was fired. Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio reported this afternoon that Arizona offered Towers the GM job (Twitter link).
Interim GM Jerry Dipoto will not return to the Diamondbacks.
Odds & Ends: Cubs, Towers, Phillies, Torre, Lee
Tuesday night links, as Scott Baker makes his first start for the Twins in nearly three weeks….
- Jim Hendry will officially interview Ryne Sandberg for the Cubs' manager job, reports Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago. According to Levine's sources, the club also plans to talk to Pat Listach, Bob Melvin, and Bob Brenly.
- A "reliable source" told Jim Bowden (Twitter link) that the D'Backs are set to offer Kevin Towers their GM job. Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona says no job offer has been made yet, though the team met with Towers again today (Twitter link).
- Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly reports (via Twitter) that the Phillies have signed Franklyn Zavala, a 16-year-old Dominican pitcher, for a $330K bonus.
- Understandably, Joe Torre's comments about the possibility of managing the Mets didn't sit well with current manager Jerry Manuel, as Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger writes. Torre apologized for his comments, telling Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times that he's "closing the door on managing the Mets – and probably everybody else" (Twitter links).
- Astros manager Brad Mills avoided the question of whether Carlos Lee would play more first base in 2011, says MLB.com's Pete Kerzel. Alyson Footer, the team's director of social media, notes in a pair of tweets that first base is Lee's strongest position and she'd like to see him there next year.
- Pat Gillick won't rule out taking another general manager job if the right situation arises, writes Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
- Craig Counsell tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link) that he'll be back in 2011, either for the Brewers or another club.