Diamondbacks Hire Towers as GM

“Don’t quit your day job.” Never has my father’s advice been more appropriate than it was today. Less than 24 hours after I boldly predicted the Arizona Diamondbacks would name interim General Manager Jerry Dipoto the permanent GM, the team scheduled a press conference at Chase Field to name Kevin Towers to the job.

So with hat in hand, I come before you to apologize for my complete lack of prognosticating ability. This should also clear up any misconception that I have any clue as to what is happening with the Diamondbacks front office.

My theory that the Diamondbacks would promote from within and hold loyalty above other attributes was mistaken, as was my assessment that the team was interested in saving money by signing the lower cost Dipoto.

As I sat and listened to the press conference where General Partner Ken Kendrick and President/CEO Derrick Hall introduced Towers it became clear that this hiring had a lot to do with credibility.

I thought back to the press conference in July when these two gentlemen were on this same podium discussing the firing of Josh Byrnes. In that press conference they talked about how they came to the conclusion that a change was needed.

One of the comments that stood out to me was when they talked about reaching out to other teams, asking how the Diamondbacks were perceived in the industry. They were startled to hear how poorly other teams thought about the team, and in particular, the upper levels of the farm system.

That should have been the first clue that the next GM would need to come with instant credibility, something Dipoto did not have.

Before I go any farther, let me state that I believe either Dipoto or Towers would have been successful and better than Byrnes had been the past four years. I have no doubts that Dipoto will become a very good General Manager, and in a very short time.

Given the state of the team and the dwindling fan base, the Diamondbacks had no choice but to hire an experienced candidate that has a proven track record for developing a winning roster on a limited budget.

Towers has proved himself building winning teams that reached the World Series while in San Diego. He will have his work cut out for him in Arizona, where many of the team’s deficiencies are on display every night.

Towers has a reputation of being a master of talent evaluation. He will take the next few months to review players at every level of the organization.

This will give him an idea of what capital he has and what can bring value in trades to overcome the holes the fans see every night.

For the first time in a long time Diamondbacks fans have reason to hope that they have endured the worst of the storm and bright skies lay ahead. But be warned, there will be changes both on the field and in the front office. No player or coach will be immune from evaluation and possible departure.