Tony La Russa

When the Diamondbacks re-shuffled their front office, changing Tony La Russa’s title from “chief baseball officer” to “chief baseball analyst and adviser,” they also worked out a new contract, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. That makes sense, given that La Russa’s original pact reportedly expired at the end of the season. The new arrangement’s key details — compensation and term, in particular — haven’t yet been reported. It’s clear, though, that La Russa will no longer control baseball operations decisionmaking and is destined for a role that is more advisory in nature.

Here’s more from Arizona and the rest of the western divisions:

• New Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen provided a bit more insight into his strategic thinking with the offseason set to begin in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (via Twitter). Rival executives have yet to reach out to open a dialogue, says Hazen, who emphasized both that he’s undertaking a close look at the team’s internal situation and readying to hit the ground running. “Getting a firm understand of what is here is important to me,” he said. “But we’re not going to hesitate.”
• The incoming GM also addressed the team’s upcoming managerial search in his chat with MLB Network Radio (Twitter links). “We are looking for an impact leader” in the dugout, he said. “The game is evolving, somebody that is looking forward to embracing that evolution.” At present, Arizona is “working through a candidate list,” but won’t rush into a hiring. “This is a critical decision and we’re going to take our time and get it right,” said Hazen.
• Intial speculation for the open skipper gig has focused on Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo, an oft-cited managerial candidate who has obvious ties with Hazen, who was hired out of Boston. But the new Arizona general manager declined to comment on his potential candidacy directly, as Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports. Hazen also offered some interesting observations on the Red Sox’ ability to maintain continuity even in the midst of change, which could certainly inform the way that he approaches his tenure with the D-Backs.
• Hazen was a wise hire, ESPN.com’s Keith Law argues in an Insider piece. The veteran executive has extensive experience in both traditional and more contemporary approaches to the game, and earns high marks around the game for his management style.
• Still, Law notes, the move is yet another reminder that MLB’s initiatives to improve the representation of minorities in the upper reaches of front offices have yet to gain significant traction. He argues that the league needs to find a way to get more talented minority persons into the types of lower-level positions that ultimately serve as feeders to upper-level decisionmaking roles. One way to do that, Law suggests, is to prohibit unpaid internships — which tend to be occupied by those who can afford not to do paid work for a stretch (i.e., as he puts it, “generally the same kids from privileged backgrounds and expensive private schools who seem to be receiving an undue share of the upper-level jobs in baseball”).

The Diamondbacks introduced new general manager Mike Hazen today, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. While there wasn’t much in the way of specifics on offer, the team’s top brass did talk through some general approaches and also addressed the still-undefined role of re-positioned executive Tony La Russa, Piecoro further reports.

Hazen enters the fold with a broad mandate as he takes the reins from the outgoing Dave Stewart. Though he was the last executive interviewed by the organization, things came together in a matter of days. “Clearly, in the case of Mike, everybody agrees he’s the right guy,” said president and CEO Derrick Hall. “So you have to let him do his job. That’s the goal.”

Hall and his boss, owner Ken Kendrick, expressed confidence in their new hire. Hall explained that Hazen will look to build a sustainable contender, with a “well-balanced” approach. The long-time Red Sox executive impressed with his breakdown of the organization, presenting a “vision” that the organization’s top leadership found compelling.

The incoming GM will take over final authority over the baseball decisionmaking for the organization, whereas Stewart had reported to La Russa. While the Hall of Fame skipper will stay in the organization — which was no sure thing after Stewart, VP DeJon Watson, and manager Chip Hale were all cut loose — he’ll do so in a diminished capacity.

La Russa was involved in the GM hiring process even after he was ordered to fire Stewart and was stripped of his title of chief baseball officer. But he’ll now work under the lesser title of chief baseball analyst and adviser, and will join Hazen in reporting to Hall, who says there’ll be “a dotted line” between the two men. “Mike needs to know everything that [La Russa is] doing and be comfortable with it,” Hall explained, adding that the relationship between La Russa and a new manager will also require “an understanding on both sides at what that role is.”

The precise nature of the relationship between Hazen and La Russa remains to be seen, but it seems that the former will attempt to embrace the latter’s experience. “I know that the game is moving in a particular direction with the buzzword of analytics,” Hazen explained. “(But) there’s no replacing the softer parts of the game, the knowledge of how to manage a human being.  … “Those things I’m confident that Tony’s going to be able to help with and I look forward to hearing what he has to say on all those things.” La Russa struck a similar tone, saying: “I think there’s a real place in front offices for guys that have uniform experience, just so you can help balance the metrics (with) some of that baseball expertise that’s come along for 100 years.”

Indeed, though he has spent much of his time in a Boston organization that obviously values analytics, Hazen stressed his roots in scouting and player development. As for the team’s many upcoming offseason decisions, Hazen largely demurred. “I don’t have a defined view just yet,” he said. “It would be irresponsible for me at this point to sort of say exactly how we’re going to attack the roster.” That’s understandable enough, given that he hasn’t yet dug into his new job, and he did notethat offseason opportunities will have an impact on the organization’s direction. “We’ll have more concrete answers on that as we move through the offseason,” he said. “We’ll see what the landscape is in the marketplace.”