Out With the Old And In With the New in Arizona for the D-Backs

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Have you lost track of who is doing what for the Arizona Diamondbacks these
days?  You are not alone. In the month since Kevin Towers has been named the new general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Towers has certainly put his stamp on the ballclub.

Manager Kirk Gibson photo by Icon SMI

In addition to removing the interim tag from manager Kirk Gibson‘s title, here
are the major changes precipitated by the Towers hiring:

General Manager

Old: Jerry Dipoto (interim)  New: Kevin Towers

Towers was named GM on September 22, narrowly beating out Dipoto, the other
finalist.  Dipoto was offered another role in the organization.
Eventually, he accepted.

Assistant General Manager

Old: Peter Woodfork  New: Jerry Dipoto

Dipoto’s new position is actually “vice president of
scouting and player personnel.”  Whatever the title, Dipoto will serve as
Towers’ right-hand man in much the same way as Woodfork did for departed GM Josh
Byrnes.

Director of Player Development

Old: Mike Berger  New: Rico Brogna

Brogna had served as a scout for the D-backs from 2006-2009 before becoming
manager of the Double-A Mobile BayBears this past season.  He was also the
interim Minor League field coordinator in 2008.  Berger has been reassigned
to Director of Professional Scouting, which is a position beneath the overall
Director of Scouting (see below).

Assistant Director of Player Development

Old: None New: Quinton McCracken

This is a new position within the organization.  McCracken spent four years
roaming the outfield as an Arizona Diamondback, but has no front office
experience.

Scouting Director

Old: Tom Allison New: Ray Montgomery

In the biggest head-scratcher move of the bunch, Allison was relieved of his
head scouting duties after four extremely successful drafts.  His
replacement worked as the Milwaukee Brewers‘ Midwest cross-checker from 2007-10,
and Montgomery also served as Milwaukee’s assistant director of amateur scouting
in each of the last two seasons.  Allison had worked for seven seasons as a
Brewers’ scouting cross-checker prior to joining the D-backs for the 2007
season.

Photo of new Bench Coach Alan Trammell by Icon SMI

Bench Coach

Old: Bo Porter New: Alan Trammell

Porter began the 2010 season as the D-backs’ third base coach, then replaced
Gibson as bench coach once Gibson was named interim manager.  Trammell
played alongside Gibson on a dozen Detroit Tigers teams spanning three decades,
and Gibson had been Trammell’s bench coach for the three seasons that Trammell
managed the Tigers (2003-2005).  The past four seasons, Trammell has been
bench coach of the Chicago Cubs.

“I’ve probably talked more baseball with Alan Trammell than anybody since I’ve
been involved in the game,” Gibson said in a conference call.  “We have
similar beliefs and philosophies.”

Hitting Coach

Old: Jack Howell  New: Don Baylor

Howell’s dismissal was unsurprising, as he had taken a lot of heat for Arizona’s
setting a new record for team strikeouts in one season.  Baylor has nine
years of  managerial experience with the Cubs and Rockies, but has always
enjoyed greater acclaim for his work as a hitting coach.  As a player,
Baylor notably hit 338 home runs in his career without once ranking among the
top 10 in his league in strikeouts.

Pitching Coach

Old: Mel Stottlemyre Jr.  New: Charles Nagy

Stottlemyre Jr. was offered another role in the organization, but there is no
word on what position nor whether he has accepted.  He had previously
served as minor league pitching coordinator, a role now manned by Jeff Pico.
Nagy was the pitching coach for Triple-A Columbus of the Cleveland Indians
organization this past season, and pitched in three postseasons with the Indians
in the 90s.

First Base Coach

Old: Matt Williams  New: Eric Young

Young served as minor league outfield/baserunning coordinator for the Houston
Astros in 2010.  His 465 career stolen bases is tied for 44th all-time and
ranks third among players whose careers began after 1990.  Williams shifts
across the diamond for 2011.

Third Base Coach

Old: Joel Youngblood  New: Matt Williams

Youngblood was offered another role in the organization, but there is no word on
what position nor whether he has accepted.  He had previously served as the
D-backs’ minor league outfield/baserunning coordinator.

“We feel like we’ve added a lot of experience to the coaching staff,” concluded
Towers in a conference call.