Transaction Analysis: Arizona Raises Hale

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS Team Audit | Player Cards | Depth Chart

Introduced Chip Hale as manager. [10/13]

Although Hale is a California native, his return to the Diamondbacks marks a homecoming of sorts. He lives in Tucson, attended the University of Arizona, managed in the D'backs minor-league system for six seasons, and served as third-base coach on Bob Melvin's Arizona staff years ago. (He later joined the Mets in the same capacity before reuniting with Melvin in Oakland as the A's bench coach.)

But don't mistake Hale's hiring as a way for the D'Backs to gain easy PR points. For one, the third-base coach is often the most or second-most hated individual on the coaching staff, depending on how long the hitting coach has been around. For another, the lesser path of resistance for Tony La Russa and Dave Stewart would have been to appoint a famous former D'back to the position—someone like Jay Bell. Instead, nostalgia didn't appear to be one of the key requirements for La Russa and Stewart, as they chose Hale from a group of finalists that included Sandy Alomar Jr., Phil Nevin, and Jim Tracy.

Besides, Hale has been a legitimate managerial candidate for years. He almost landed the Mariners and Mets job in the past, and has interviewed for various other recent openings. (Had he not been hired by the D'backs, he would've spoken with the Twins later in the week about their vacancy.) That doesn't mean he's a given to succeed—no manager is—but just that this is a defensible hiring that could work out well, or could end with a nasty divorce in two years' time; there's just no telling.

The Rangers and Twins are now the only teams without managers.