Nick Piecoro

azcentral sports

The Diamondbacks informed De Jon Watson, the club’s senior vice president of baseball operations, that he will not have his contract option picked up for 2017, the first of what could be several dominos to fall in leadership positions within the organization.

Though Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa made the announcement Sunday evening, he stressed that the Watson dismissal in no way clarified La Russa’s own situation for next season, nor that of General Manager Dave Stewart.

Both La Russa and Stewart’s jobs are being “evaluated” by ownership and CEO Derrick Hall as the Diamondbacks are nearing the end of one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history. Even after beating the Dodgers 10-9 in 12 innings on Sunday afternoon, the Diamondbacks are on pace for 94 losses in a year in which they expected to contend for a division title.

Watson, like Stewart, had a contract option for next year that was supposed to have been decided on Aug. 31, but ownership pushed back the decisions until the end of the regular season. La Russa is working on a contract that expires at the end of this season.

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La Russa said Watson was “anxious to get something clarified,” leading to the decision Sunday.

“In talking with De Jon when his option was not picked up at the end of August,” he said, “he asked about how long it would take because if it wasn’t going to work out, he’s got contacts to make so he can land on his feet. That kind of sped the process up in his case.”

La Russa spoke highly of Watson but suggested the organization might have too many voices in the front office and might benefit by paring down.

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“I think he’s everything we thought when he came here,” La Russa said. “Tons of personality, a very bright guy, an out-of-the-box thinker. He’s got great experience. But we’re thinking about if there’s a possibility of consolidating a little bit about responsibilities if we go forward.

“As we’ve worked through a couple of years, there’s more communication like I’m having with scouting and player development, and Stew is having the same. It’s not that there’s not a role for someone like De Jon, but that’s a possibility that there’s some duplication.”

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A source said the decision was made more by La Russa and Stewart than by Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick or CEO Derrick Hall. But another source disputed the idea that it was anyone but ownership that wanted to part ways with Watson, who oversaw the club’s scouting and player development departments.

When asked who made the call, La Russa sort of tiptoed around the question, saying ownership had some information on the inner-workings of the group.

La Russa acknowledged the uncertainty he and Stewart face, adding if it were up to him he’d prefer to meet with Kendrick and Hall before the end of the season rather than after, given the offseason planning that needs to take place. He and Stewart were both leaving with the team on Sunday night for a 10-game road trip that begins in San Diego on Monday night.

“I honestly don’t have any idea how it’s going to turn out,” La Russa said. “We have meetings still to be held with Ken and Derrick. That’s when we’ll get it decided.”

If the club does make sweeping changes, it would be doing so after giving the regime just two full seasons on the job. Some in the industry believe that is not enough time to make a true evaluation, but La Russa said he doesn’t see it that way, adding that he considers himself the person in the front office most responsible for what’s happened.

“To me, if you have half a year, you can evaluate on half a year,” said La Russa, who was hired in May 2014. “It’s 2 1/2, so there’s plenty of opportunity. I don’t feel like anything is unfair about what’s happened.

“I just think there’s a lot of learning. It’s a unique job. I think I’ve learned a lot. Asked a lot of questions of other people in other sports that do the same thing and getting a more crystal sort of view of how to make more of an impact.”

Watson, who was hired on the same day as Stewart in September 2014, was instrumental in the club’s international scouting efforts, including the signing of outfielder Yasmany Tomas and right-hander Yoan Lopez, a pair of Cubans the club signed two winters ago.

Tomas, who received a six-year, $68.5 million deal, has made big strides offensively this season but continues to struggle to find a home defensively. Lopez, who cost the club more than $16 million, has not pitched well in the minor leagues and has twice left his Double-A team midseason, saying at one point this year he was planning to walk away from the game entirely.

Watson also did not have a good working relationship with farm director Mike Bell, according to sources. After a conference call in July, Bell told superiors he could no longer work with Watson. The two had limited interactions for much of the past two months, sources said.

Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.