Dodgers News: De Jon Watson Leaves To Join Diamondbacks
One reason for that was vice president and director of player development, De Jon Watson. In recent weeks, it had been rumored that Watson was on his way out because of the interest from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
On Thursday, the Diamondbacks took to their official Twitter account to announce some news that involved Watson:
OFFICIAL: #Dbacks hire Dave Stewart as Sr. Vice President & General Manager and De Jon Watson as Sr. Vice President, Baseball Operations.
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 25, 2014
Watson has been with the Dodgers for the past eight years and has been running the development for two years. He joins Stewart, who made headlines as Matt Kemp’s disgruntled agent earlier this season, in Arizona under the direction of Tony La Russa. The Diamondbacks fired Kevin Towers from his GM position earlier this month.
With the Dodgers, Watson was responsible for setting up the minor league staff and learning the players in the farm system in order to assist GM Ned Colletti. He started the team’s winter development program six years ago. Originally, it appeared that Watson was in the running for the Diamondbacks’ GM position, but ultimately was hired in another capacity. The 48-year-old will focus more on the minors, while Stewart will be heading the major-league roster.
As for the Dodgers, there has been no word of who will replace Watson. The team could decide to wait for the season to end before making any decisions.