Tony La Russa’s time with the Arizona Diamondbacks front office will officially conclude at the end of the month. The club made an official announcement on Wednesday.
Chief Baseball Analyst Tony La Russa will depart the #Dbacks organization at the end of the month. We thank Tony for his contributions. pic.twitter.com/bbGdBYRmJA
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) October 18, 2017
La Russa also released a statement about the move.
Chief Baseball Analyst Tony La Russa will depart the Dbacks at the end of October. He served as the club’s Chief Baseball Officer in ‘15-16. pic.twitter.com/I0eGVQapdE
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) October 18, 2017
La Russa joined the organization of May in 2014 as the Chief Baseball Analyst. After the 2016 season, the Diamondbacks fired La Russa’s general manager, Dave Stewart, and replaced him with Mike Hazen. At that point, La Russa’s title became Chief Baseball Analyst.
La Russa’s tenure with Arizona is a tough one to evaluate.
The team was unquestionably better in 2017 with him in a smaller role. Arizona went 93-69. The winning record and subsequent postseason appearance were both firsts for the organization since 2011. With that said, many of the players that were brought in with La Russa as Chief Baseball Analyst were integral to the team’s success in 2017.