Yahoo!’s Tim Brown reports that it’s a “done deal”: the Dbacks have offered their GM job to Kevin Towers and Towers has accepted. The new law students among you are obligated to note that, yes, there was consideration as well: a two-year contract, with “some option provisions.”
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this is that interim GM Jerry DiPoto, who was a co-finalist for the job, may stay on with the team in some other capacity. While guys who are stepped-over tend to move on, it may be wise for DiPoto to hang around given that his candidacy for the job was based on the team’s familiarity with him, not because he was seen as some hot property in baseball executive circles. Best to apprentice a couple more years with Towers and then try to parlay that into a top job down the road, methinks.
Anyway, this is great pickup for Arizona. While things didn’t end well for Towers with San Diego from a won-loss perspective, he did much to assemble the team that is now winning there. He frequently put together much better Padres teams than could have been expected given their payroll, and his ability to find good pitching at discount prices will serve the Diamondbacks well.
