PHOENIX -- The Arizona Diamondbacks continued their overhaul by removing manager Kirk Gibson on Friday, a change that was speculated when chief baseball officer Tony La Russa was hired in May and came to be seen as inevitable as the season wore on.
The D-backs (63-96 entering Friday) have the worst record in the major leagues, but La Russa said the decision to remove Gibson and bench coach Alan Trammell with three days left in the regular season was not based on a record largely caused by an injury-depleted roster but on a desire to extend the facelift that began in May.
The decision was announced 15 minutes before an afternoon press conference to introduce general manager Dave Stewart and director of baseball operations De Jon Watson.
"In the end, what the decision came down to ... they brought me in as a change," La Russa said of managing partner Ken Kendrick and president/CEO Derrick Hall. "Now we've got De Jon and Dave. We just decided that being fresh, starting fresh with not just the upstairs leadership team but downstairs, is more consistent with what we are doing as an organization."
During Kirk Gibson's four-year tenure as manager, the D-backs posted a 353-375 record.
Stewart said the D-backs have begun the process of compiling a list of potential candidates, and he mentioned Triple-A Reno manager Phil Nevin, Double-A Mobile manager Andy Green and D-backs hitting coach and former Mobile manager Turner Ward as in-house candidates.
"We are looking for somebody who can lead this club, not just in the short term but the long term," Stewart said. "There are some good names out there. We've got veteran guys who are out there that are available, and we've got some young stars that are actually within our system.
"We definitely are going to look at those guys, but the outside guys we are going to take a little bit more time and really, really do a good job of who we bring in here."
The D-backs will move with all deliberate speed in finding Gibson's successor.
"When you want to get things right, you take as much time as you need," Stewart said.
Gibson led the D-backs to the NL West title with a 94-68 record in his first full season in 2011, but the team broke even at 81-81 in 2012 and 2013 before falling apart this season. That was in part because of season-ending injuries to No. 1 starter Patrick Corbin and reliever David Hernandez in spring training and later injuries to A.J. Pollock, Mark Trumbo, Paul Goldschmidt and Bronson Arroyo that caused all to miss extended time.
"It was my trigger to pull," La Russa said.
"I solicited opinions from people I respect and in the end I just explained this to Kirk, and Alan as well, what you hope is if you get a chance to manage, it is in a fair situation. And the combination of factors made this a very difficult situation to win in. So there is a certain unfairness in being evaluated with 97 losses.
"So it is really not a reflection on them. I know that sounds a little hollow, but I'm always sincere when I am serious. The situation was unfair enough that the losses piled up, but we are making a fresh start. It made sense in the end to start fresh with the manager."
Gibson, who was named the interim manager when manager A.J. Hinch was fired on July 2, 2010, was 353-375 in his four-plus seasons. He has been with the organization since 2007, when he joined Bob Melvin's staff as bench coach.
"The players all loved him. Everyone loved him," Paul Goldschmidt said.
"He was working as hard as anyone. We know that performance is how it is in this game, so when you have the worst record in baseball, you know change may be possible. We all know how the game works. Wins and losses. Batting average. ERA. This game is about performance. Right or wrong, it doesn't matter if it is your fault sometimes. It comes down to that."
Trammell, who will manage the final three games of the season, joined old friend and Detroit teammate Gibson as the D-backs as bench coach in 2011.
"I am extremely appreciative for this opportunity and I had a great experience with the Diamondbacks," Gibson said in a prepared statement.
"I know we had a tough year and people will look at this as a negative, but we accomplished a lot of good things here. I told the team that I have nothing but the utmost respect for this organization and the people I've met along the way."
D-backs reliever Brad Ziegler said players felt some guilt for the change.
"No question," Ziegler said. "He's not controlling the pitches we throw. He's not controlling the swings that guys make or the guys fielding. So if we go out and perform better, then we have a better record at the end of the year and there is a chance that he doesn't get fired.
"At the same time, there is no way to know for sure what would have been the best-case scenario for us this year. We felt like it was definitely better than it ended up. But maybe we weren't a playoff team to start with, even though we felt like we were in early March."
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