Report: De Jon Watson To Leave For Diamondbacks

This isn’t wonderful:

#Dodgers’ De Jon Watson likely to join #DBacks as assistant to Dave Stewart, sources tell me and @jonmorosi. Stewart close to being named GM

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 24, 2014

Watson, the VP of Player Development, joined the Dodgers in 2007 from Cleveland, and he along with Logan White have largely been responsible for the team’s scouting, drafting and minor league operations. Or, as his team bio says:

In this role, he is responsible for developing and evaluating all players in the Dodgers’ minor league system, appointing all minor league managers and coaching staff, as well as all coordinator and instructor positions. He also oversees the clubs’ winter ball participation, Latin American player development and relationships between the Dodgers and their minor league affiliates. Watson serves as an advisor to General Manager Ned Colletti on 40-man roster moves and Major League acquisitions in addition to overseeing all minor league transactions.

It’s a little interesting to see Watson go (assuming this is true), because he interviewed for the Arizona job twice, losing to Kevin Towers in 2010 and now, presumably, to Dave Stewart. He’s also interviewed for the Baltimore job in the past. By all accounts, he’s been a very valuable member of the team, and that’s what hurts here — the loss of all that institutional knowledge, especially to a division rival. More often than not, when you’d read interviews about whether Corey Seager would move to third, or how the organization views Zach Lee, or how Julio Urias is coming along, the words would be Watson’s. It’s not a bad thing to see good people get good jobs, but it hurts the Dodgers, at least a little.

The better news? Stewart, once he’s officially named Arizona GM, will no longer be Matt Kemp‘s agent. It certainly seemed like half the problems we’d heard about between Kemp and the Dodgers came via the mouthpiece of Stewart, and I can’t say I’m sorry to see him go. Between Stewart and Tony LaRussa, the Diamondbacks certainly aren’t making themselves more likable.