La Russa uncertain of fate with D’backs
The Arizona Diamondbacks told De Jon Watson, the club’s senior vice president of baseball operations, that his contract option won’t be picked up for 2017, the first of what could be several dominoes to fall in leadership positions within the organization.
Though chief baseball officer Tony La Russa made the announcement, he stressed that the Watson dismissal in no way clarified La Russa’s own situation for next season, nor that of general manager Dave Stewart.
The jobs of La Russa and Stewart are being evaluated by ownership and CEO Derrick Hall as the Diamondbacks are nearing the end of one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history. Even after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-9 in 12 innings Sunday, the Diamondbacks were on pace for 94 losses in a year in which they expected to contend for a division title.
Watson, like Stewart, had a contract option for next year that was supposed to have been decided on Aug. 31, but ownership pushed back the decisions until the end of the regular season. La Russa’s contract expires at the end of this season.
La Russa said Watson wanted “to get something clarified,” leading to the decision Sunday.
“In talking with De Jon when his option was not picked up at the end of August,” he said, “he asked about how long it would take, because if it wasn’t going to work out, he’s got contacts to make so he can land on his feet. That kind of sped the process up.”
La Russa spoke highly of Watson, who oversaw the scouting and player development departments, but suggested the organization might have too many voices in the front office and could benefit by paring down.
“I think he’s everything we thought when he came here,” La Russa said. “Tons of personality, a very bright guy, an out-of-the-box thinker. He’s got great experience. But we’re thinking about if there’s a possibility of consolidating a little bit about responsibilities if we go forward. As we’ve worked through a couple of years, there’s more communication like I’m having with scouting and player development, and Stew is having the same. It’s not that there’s not a role for someone like De Jon, but that’s a possibility that there’s some duplication.”
When asked who made the call, La Russa sort of tiptoed around the question, saying ownership had some information on the inner workings of the group.
La Russa acknowledged the uncertainty he and Stewart faced, adding that if it were up to him, he’d prefer to meet with managing general partner Ken Kendrick and Hall before the end of the season rather than after, given the offseason planning that needs to take place. He and Stewart were joining the team for a 10-game road trip that began at the San Diego Padres on Monday night.
“I honestly don’t have any idea how it’s going to turn out,” La Russa said. “We have meetings still to be held with Ken and Derrick. That’s when we’ll get it decided.”
If the club makes sweeping changes, it would be doing so after giving the regime just two full seasons on the job. Some in the industry think that is not enough time to make a true evaluation, but La Russa said he didn’t see it that way, adding that he considers himself the person in the front office most responsible for what has happened.
“To me, if you have half a year, you can evaluate on half a year,” said La Russa, who was hired in May 2014. “It’s 21⁄ so there’s plenty of opportunity. I don’t feel like anything is unfair about what’s happened.
“I just think there’s a lot of learning. It’s a unique job. I think I’ve learned a lot. Asked a lot of questions of other people in other sports that do the same thing and getting a more crystal sort of view of how to make more of an impact.”
Piecoro writes for The (Phoenix) Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network.