AZCENTRAL SPORTS
Former D-Backs exec admits mistake in draft
Former D-Backs and current Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto says one decision from his time with Arizona keeps him up at night: not drafting Chris Sale, who is now a Red Sox ace.
Mistakes made in the draft room still keep Jerry Dipoto up at night — and that includes an ill-fated selection the Diamondbacks made in the 2010 draft that still reverberates within the organization. That decision: passing on left-hander Chris Sale.
Sale was still on the board when the Diamondbacks’ selection came up at No. 6 overall that year, but they instead took Texas A&M right-hander Barret Loux, whom they never signed due to injury concerns.
Dipoto, speaking at the SABR Analytics Conference in downtown Phoenix on Friday, took the blame, saying he went against the opinion of his scouting staff by pushing for Loux. He said he’s learned from the mistake and believes he is a better baseball executive as a result.
“The (mistakes) that really gnaw at me and I still wake up thinking about are the ones in the draft,” said Dipoto, who in 2010 was overseeing the draft in his role as vice president of scouting and player development. “Where you had a scout or multiple scouts in the room telling you, ‘This is the guy.’ You know, ‘We should take Chris Sale.’ We should have.”
It is hard to overstate the significance of that decision in recent franchise history. Sale, who was drafted 13th overall by the Chicago White Sox, has developed into one of the top pitchers in baseball, an ace starter who has logged more than 1,100 career innings with a 3.00 ERA and has finished in the top six in Cy Young voting five consecutive seasons.
Sale’s value was so high this past offseason that the Red Sox parted with two of the top prospects in baseball, infielder Yoan Moncada and right-hander Michael Kopech, to acquire him.