Former Dodgers pitcher Dave Stewart, the agent to current Dodgers Matt Kemp and Chad Billingsley, will soon be named the general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to multiple reports Wednesday.
Jon Heyman of CBSsports.com was first with the news this morning, followed by a tweet from Bob Nightengale of USA Today that the two parties still needed to iron out the terms. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that Stewart expected to hear a formal decision from the Diamondbacks’ top executives by the end of today. Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports that Dodgers farm director De Jon Watson, who also interviewed for the job, “could also join the club to work with Stewart.”
That last nugget should be of interest to Dodgers fans. Even if Watson remains with the Dodgers, here are some things to consider:
Stewart is currently the agent to Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp and pitcher Chad Billingsley. He wouldn’t be allowed to continue in that role if/when he takes the Diamondbacks job. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Stewart is transferring his agency to former Oakland A’s teammate Dave Henderson, a partner in Stewart’s San Diego-based firm. So that solves that issue.
But, with off-season trade rumors swirling around the Dodgers’ outfield, and Billingsley potentially set to become a free agent for the first time — more on that in a bit — there will at least be a specter of interest coming from Phoenix toward two current Dodgers players.
It’s difficult to see any Kemp-to-Arizona trade talks getting far. Intra-division deals are rare because the rate of return simply isn’t fair. One Dodgers executive told me the rate is about 25 cents on the dollar, meaning a team in the division must pay four times as much (in terms of talent, money or some combination thereof) than a team not in the division who wants the same player. All parties are aware of this rule going in.
According to baseball-reference.com, there have been six trades ever between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, three between the Dodgers and Padres, three between the Dodgers and Giants (on the West Coast) and seven between the Dodgers and Rockies. No Matt Kemp-sized blockbusters on those lists. So as much as Dave Stewart might love to have him, today’s news doesn’t mean the Dodgers will trade Matt Kemp to the Diamondbacks.
Repeated for effect: The Dodgers won’t trade Matt Kemp to the Diamondbacks.
Billingsley is a different animal. He has either a $14 million club option or a $3 million buyout coming to him this off-season. The Dodgers could use a fourth and/or fifth starter next season (the and/or depends on whether or not Dan Haren exercises his player option for 2015), but Billingsley hasn’t pitched in a major-league game since April of last year. He probably won’t command $14 million on the open market. The buyout is a more likely outcome.
At that point, Billingsley might need a GM who is willing to take a chance on him, someone who believes in him enough to overlook his injury history (ulnar collateral ligament surgery in 2013; flexor tendon surgery in 2014) and pay him something less than $14 million to pitch next season. Since Billingsley has spent his entire career in the Dodgers’ organization, there might only be two GMs who fit the bill: Stewart and Ned Colletti.
We’ll update the story as it develops. Stay tuned.