Tigers scout Mike Russell joins Diamondbacks

Mike Russell is inducted into the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame. Photo Courtesy of Captive Photos

Jason Beck of MLB.com is reporting that Detroit Tigers top scout Mike Russell is joining the Diamondbacks organization as a special assistant to VP of Baseball Operations DeJon Watson.

Russell is regarded by rival executives as one of the best scouts in the industry. Russell started working for Tigers G.M. Dave Dombrowski in 1996 with the Marlins. He moved with Dombrowski to the Tigers in 2002 as a major league scout.

He is most known for doing the background work on Miguel Cabrera whom the Tigers acquired from the Marlins in 2007. He was inducted into the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame last year.

Watson also worked under Dombrowski with the Marlins in 1996, so Russell was excited to reunite with an old friend. This is what he told Beck:

“I’m really excited about it,” Russell said. “It was nothing negative. It was just a promotion and a chance to go help a friend.”

The Tigers moved quickly to name a replacement hiring former Pirates G.M. Dave Littlefield.