In the midst of a disappointing 16-28 start, the Diamondbacks announced that they’ve hired Tony La Russa as Chief Baseball Officer.
The 69-year-old Hall of Famer, three-time World Series-winning manager, and four-time Manager of the Year will work alongside team president and chief executive officer Derrick Hall, who issued the following statement:
The entire organization is obviously frustrated with the results on the field and we are looking to improve. Tony brings us a wealth of knowledge, experience and success, and will work closely with [general manager Kevin Towers] and [manager Kirk Gibson] in evaluating our current state to determine the future of our baseball operations. He is excited and enthusiastic about the challenge, and we are fortunate to have this Hall of Famer on board and a part of the team.
It’s hard to imagine this not eventually leading to general manager Kevin Towers and manager Kirk Gibson being let go considering how poorly the team has performed and the fact that La Russa will presumably want to shake things up by bringing in his own people.