Fansided

Dave Stewart emerges as Arizona Diamondbacks GM candidate

By Aaron Somers |

Pressurized situations are hardly new to Dave Stewart, after starting 18 postseason games during a 16 year MLB career before stepping into a new role as a prominent agent for many players across the game. It should come as no surprise that Stewart could be looking at a new venture that would present all new challenges, as the right-hander has emerged as an early candidate for the Arizona Diamondbacks GM opening.

Arizona elected to remove Kevin Towers from the GM position early Friday morning. Most reports noted that Towers had been fired from the position, but the team later clarified that he had instead been offered another position within the organization. It is believed to be a scouting role, but Towers will likely wait until a new GM is named before electing whether or not he wants to accept the opportunity.

A handful of potential candidates have already been named, a group that includes D’backs scouting director Ray Montgomery, Angels director of pro scouting Hal Morris, Cardinals executive Gary LaRocque, and Yankees AGM Billy Eppler. Red Sox AGM Mike Hazen could also become a possibility after being involved in the same process just a few weeks ago as the Padres were looking for their new GM.

Stewart, of course, is the one name that stands out for obvious reasons. Seeing an agent transition into a front office role is not a common occurrence.

Originally a 16th Round draft pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1975, Stewart made his MLB Debut during the 1978 season but wouldn’t become an MLB regular until 1981. He spent the next 16 seasons pitching for the Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Oakland A’s and Toronto Blue Jays. He’d post a 3.95 ERA and 1.344 WHIP for his career, with a 168-129 overall record.

His time with Oakland was the best stretch of his career. From 1986 to 1992 Stewart was a fixture atop the A’s rotation. He topped the 200 inning mark in five straight seasons and remarkably won 20 or more games every year from 1987 to 1990. Four times he finished in the Top 3 in AL Cy Young Award voting.

More from Arizona Diamondbacks

Stewart also made 22 appearances (18 starts) in the postseason, posting a 2.77 ERA and 1.105 WHIP. Stewart was a member of three World Series winning teams in 1981, 1989 and 1993.

Since retiring following the 1995 season, Stewart has been serving as a player agent, representing current players like Matt Kemp and Chris Carter.

Yahoo!’s Jeff Passan was the first to relay news that Stewart has been shopping his agency. Some initial reports suggested that he might be hesitant to make such a move to take a front office role, but Stewart and Tony LaRussa – one of Arizona’s chief decision makers – do have a strong relationship from their time together with the A’s.

The D’backs GM opening does present some intrigue to potential candidate and may prove to be a strong option should the team want to hire a first-time GM. LaRussa is in place leading the baseball operations decisions, presumably with an extensive amount of freedom from ownership to shape and mold the organization as he sees fit to produce a winning team once again. The Hall of Fame manager will look to find someone who sees the game from his perspective – which is where Stewart could prove to be a potential favorite. There are about three weeks left in the regular season and the team appears to be hoping to have a replacement named in that span, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Home / Arizona Diamondbacks