Eric Sorenson
As the season quickly turned south on the field for the Arizona Diamondbacks the focus has shifted to news off it.
Last week it was reported President & CEO Derrick Hall had agreed to an eight-year extension although nothing has been made official by the organization. Wednesday there was the possibility of the D-backs severing ties with General Manager Dave Stewart who had a team option but no decision was reached.
One MLB insider believes Stewart may survive the storm when it’s all said and done.
“Obviously, we’re not in [Managing General Partner] Ken Kendrick’s mind only he can make that call,” ESPN baseball insider Pedro Gomez told Sports360AZ.com’s Brad Cesmat in a phone interview Wednesday. “I believe he gets another year.”
Few things have followed script for Arizona who some believed would contend for a post-season birth after signing ace Zack Greinke and trading for Shelby Miller. Greinke has impressed despite a stint on the disabled list this summer while Miller’s season is one he’d just as soon forget, despite a solid outing against the Giants Wednesday after being recalled from Triple-A Reno.
The D-backs haven’t helped their public perception within baseball, shuffling front office personnel more than any organization in baseball in recent years.
Gomez believes those past circumstances could benefit Stewart.
“It would just create so much more chaos to switch general managers again under Ken Kendrick’s watch,” Gomez said. “I believe he’s been talked into the fact that you’ve got to allow for some stability at some point.”
He continued.
“If they do get rid of Dave Stewart then this whole Tony La Russa experiment will be a complete failure,” Gomez explained. “Im not sure Ken Kendrick is ready to go down that road just yet.”
The D-backs fell to 56-77 after Wednesday’s loss. Their run differential has been at or near the bottom of baseball for most of the summer.
