The D-Backs on Saturday named former MLB manager Tony La Russa to the newly created position of Chief Baseball Officer, and what this "specifically means for the franchise" -- or for the futures of GM Kevin Towers and manager Kirk Gibson -- "remains to be seen," according to Nick Piecoro of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. The move was a "stunning hire" for the D-Backs, who are in last place in the NL West. La Russa in his introductory press conference talked "more about big-picture concepts than specifics when asked about his plans for the short term and the long term." But the D-Backs have "added someone said to possess one of the brighter minds in the game -- and perhaps in the sport's history." La Russa under a multiyear deal will be "overseeing Towers" and will report to D-Backs President & CEO Derrick Hall (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 5/18). D-Backs Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick said La Russa "has a free rein to do whatever he thinks he needs to do to make the organization better." Hall said that the team "interviewed several people for the position but early in the process locked in on La Russa" (MLB.com, 5/17). In Phoenix, Zach Buchanan notes La Russa has "final say-so on all baseball matters," as Gibson and Towers "serve at his pleasure." La Russa can "decide if the team needs to go into full rebuilding mode, and he can jettison any player." He is "new to the world of franchise-building, but he's been eyeing a front-office job for a while." He "pursued a position" with the Mariners this past offseason, and when the Dodgers were "changing ownership, one particular group of potential investors was interested in him" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 5/19).
RAISING ARIZONA: YAHOO SPORTS' Tim Brown wrote hiring La Russa represents a "dramatic shift" in the D-Backs' hierarchy (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/18). In Phoenix, Dan Bickley wrote the D-Backs "needed new energy, a new vision," and they "delivered a lightning bolt and the best brain in the business." La Russa was a "masterful acquisition" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 5/18). FOXSPORTS.com's Jon Paul Morosi wrote the D-Backs have "changed their identity" and "acquired a gravitas they've lacked for much of the last decade." This was a "wise" hiring (FOXSPORTS.com, 5/17). In St. Louis, Bernie Miklasz writes the move is a "fascinating baseball experiment" for the club. This was an "obvious move by an underachieving Arizona franchise that needs a new direction, and TLR’s hiring has been hailed throughout baseball." La Russa brings "considerable gravitas and instant credibility," but he has "never been in charge of an entire baseball operation." He has "never had to make decisions that encompass long-term planning, payroll strategy, scouting, the draft and player development." It is a "rather substantial transition, going from managing to becoming a baseball CEO without having the acclimation time of serving in a front-office position" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 5/19). Rockies manager Walt Weiss said, "I can't say I'm surprised, but I wish it wasn't in our division with another club. The Diamondbacks just got a heck of a lot better with him being there" (DENVERPOST.com, 5/17).
TOWERS ON BOARD? NBCSPORTS.com's Craig Calcaterra asked, "How else can one take the hiring of La Russa as anything other than a demotion of sorts -- or at least a vote of non-confidence -- in Towers?" Following the hiring, Towers was giving "diplomatic quotes" and is "said to be onboard." But "based on his history, Towers is one of the few high-profile general managers who has had this happen to him before and accept it with at least something approaching equanimity" (NBCSPORTS.com, 5/18).
