Former Dbacks G.M. Kevin Towers Reveals why he didn’t stay

Feb 12, 2014; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks executive vice president & general manager, Kevin Towers looks on during camp at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Last Thursday, former Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers realized what he needed to do amid his uncertain future. Instead of staying in the Dbacks organization in another position, he decided to leave the Diamondbacks and pursue another opportunity in baseball.

Towers came to that conclusion after speaking to Snakes president and CEO Derrick Hall. This is what he told the Arizona Republic via telephone on Friday:

“I talked to (team President and CEO) Derrick (Hall) last Friday morning and said, ‘This isn’t about money, this isn’t about not having a defined role. Really, I think this the right thing to do. My gut tells me it’s time to move on.”

After being dismissed of his duties as General Manager, Towers was asked by Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa to stay with the club in an unspecified role.

Even after G.M. Dave Stewart and vice-president of baseball operations DeJon Watson were hired, Towers decided to hang around for another week. Ultimately, he decided to move on.

“As long as I’m there, the people who are here are going to call the people they’re most comfortable with if something comes about, and I didn’t want to be that guy,” Towers said. “If something came up and they’re calling me, they shouldn’t be calling me. They should be calling De Jon or Stew.

“I just know it was going to be hard and difficult, and I didn’t want to be that guy kind of in the middle between two different regimes.”

This decision was probably what was best for both Towers, and the Diamondbacks. Obviously he cares about this organization, but the bottom line is his moves didn’t work, and the Towers-Gibson era had to end.

“It didn’t feel right, and I didn’t want to be that elephant in the room when they’re making roster decisions or maybe letting people go,” Towers said. “‘I know K.T. likes him…’ I didn’t want them to have to worry about that.”

They didn’t bring on La Russa to keep the status quo, they brought him on to start fresh after a 98 loss season.

It probably wouldn’t have been a good idea to have four people making decisions in the front office. Moving on from Towers signals that the Snakes are starting over, and that is just the nature of the business after a disasterous season.

We here at venomstrikes wish Towers the best as he pursues his next opputnity in baseball.