The Diamondbacks had a huge hole to fill when the White Sox hired their previous farm director, Josh Barfield, for an assistant general manager position. Under Barfield, the D-backs developed a wave of talent that led them to an unlikely run to the World Series last year. With huge shoes to fill they turned to a familiar face, as general manager Mike Hazen brought in Dodgers field coordinator Shaun Larkin to run his farm system.
Hazen watched Larkin develop as a player, both as a professional scout (2003) and later the assistant director of player development (2004-2005) in Cleveland's organization. The same was also true for manager Torey Lovullo, who managed Larkin for 211 games between the 2004 and 2006 seasons.
"Torey and I had a relationship with him back as a player in Cleveland," said Hazen. "He's got an energy about him, the smarts, and he worked for what I believe to be the best-run organization in baseball. Those are all the intriguing things for us, and he's hit the ground running. He's got a lot to learn over the next 30-45 days for all the new faces he's got, but he's doing a good job so far."
"A grinder baseball player that I appreciated on every level every single day" said Lovullo. "[He] was on a journey to improve, gain knowledge, and get himself to the big leagues. He got to Triple-A, which was a great accomplishment for him. As a staff member, he has continued to evolve and he's on the cutting edge of information. He doesn't sit still, and he's always trying to help not only players but the staff members that he's in charge of get better."
Larkin has huge shoes to fill, as Lovullo noted being the farm director is a huge responsibility. For the D-backs to have the sustained success that Hazen has been working hard to achieve, being able to consistently produce impact talent from their farm system is essential. Especially when considering their biggest division rival has the ability to spend a billion dollars in a single offseason.
Click the card below to read the original story of Larkin's hire.
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