D-backs set to hire Dave Stewart, De Jon Watson for front office
PHOENIX -- Dave Stewart and Diamondbacks chief baseball officer Tony La Russa appear poised to reprise the remarkable run they had with the Oakland A's in the late 1980s, and they will not be alone.
Stewart is expected to join the D-backs' front office as soon as contract language is finalized, a source with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday, and De Jon Watson also will be added to a new-style front office that La Russa has said will be designed around a cabinet concept.
La Russa and Stewart formed a strong bond in their time together with the A's from 1986-92, and Stewart, from the start, was considered a leading candidate among the nine finalists to replace general manager Kevin Towers.
Watson, the Los Angeles Dodgers' assistant general manager for player development, also was among those interviewed.
The D-backs could not confirm the moves, which are expected to be announced in the next day or two.
Stewart and Towers are close, and it would not be a surprise if Towers remained with the D-backs, at least for the final year of his contract. La Russa mentioned Towers' name when talking about beefing up the D-backs' pro scouting department.
La Russa and Stewart arrived in Oakland together in 1986, when the A's began a strong stretch as Stewart's career took off under manager La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan, who joined the D-backs as a pitching advisor this season.
Dave Stewart was 168-129 with a 3.95 ERA in 16 seasons in the majors.
La Russa, Stewart and the Bash Brothers -- Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco -- won American League pennants from 1988-90 and a World Series in 1989, with Stewart as the anchor of the staff supported by big boppers such as McGwire, Canseco, Carney Lansford and Dave Henderson, among others.
Stewart will transfer his sports agency, Sports Management Partners, to Henderson, according to the San Francisco Chronicle's John Shea, a step that must be taken before he could join a front office.
Stewart worked as a pitching coach in Toronto and was a finalist for the Blue Jays' general manager job when J.P. Ricciardi was hired in 2001. While Stewart was disappointed that he was passed over, a source said Stewart still relished the opportunity to be a general manager.
Towers and Stewart go back to 1998, when then-San Diego general manager Towers hired Stewart to be the Padres' pitching coach. With closer Trevor Hoffman having a Cy Young-caliber year, the Padres made their second World Series appearance that season.
Towers and Stewart also spent time together at Chase Field after La Russa interviewed Stewart on Sept. 16.
Watson, 45, has been with the Dodgers since 2007. He was the director of pro scouting in Cleveland from 2004-06 and the scouting director in Cincinnati in 1998-2000, when he drafted Adam Dunn.
The D-backs also interviewed former major league general managers Allard Baird, Larry Beinfest and Tim Purpura, D-backs scouting director Ray Montgomery and Cardinals director of pro scouting Gary LaRocque. Texas assistant general manager Thad Levine and Yankees assistant general manager Billy Eppler removed their names from consideration last week, and LaRocque did the same earlier this week.
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