D-Backs GM Kevin Towers yesterday said that he “doesn't want to be a ‘pseudo-GM’ in Arizona, but he expressed confidence” that he can work with Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa and “show that he's the man" to run the team's baseball operations moving forward, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. Speculation has “swirled over Towers' status" since the D-Backs hired La Russa last week. But Towers said that he is “looking forward to sitting down with La Russa and getting a better handle on his role.” Towers: "Until I really get more time to sit down with Tony to really find out structure, process, reporting and job responsibilities, I'm taking the high road and looking at this as hopefully a good thing for the organization. ... The front office role will be new to [La Russa] and I'm hoping I can help him in ways too, like with the daily calendar and what's important come June and July.'' Towers added that he “doesn't expect his role to change significantly” and he “compared the dynamic with La Russa to a previous arrangement” in San Diego, where he worked under former Padres CEO Sandy Alderson. Towers said that D-Backs President & CEO Derrick Hall had “recently floated the idea of bringing in someone new atop the organization and asked for his opinion.” Towers was “considerably more receptive to La Russa than some of the other names that Hall had suggested” (ESPN.com, 5/21).
