Posted by Joe Hamrahi on Friday, January 2, 2009 at 11:20 pm

The Arizona Diamondbacks announced today that Derrick Hall was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer after General Partner and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Moorad resigned from the organization, according to Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick.

“Derrick has clearly demonstrated the ability to run a successful organization in his tenure as President of the D-backs and was an easy choice to promote to Chief Executive Officer after accepting Jeff’s resignation this morning,” Kendrick said. “Jeff was an integral part of the D-backs’ many achievements on and off of the field since joining the organization in 2004. However, it was necessary for him to tender his resignation with the organization as he pursues the acquisition of the San Diego Padres.”

“Jeff was a tremendous leader here, but we are excited about this opportunity for him,” Hall said. “Under his leadership, the current management team was formed with a clear vision to bring a disciplined business approach to the organization, while committing to provide the fans with a winning team, a fan experience second to none, and the most affordable ticket pricing in all of baseball. That commitment will continue, as this talented group moves forward. I have overwhelming admiration and appreciation for our staff and for our fans and am thrilled and honored to have the added responsibility.”

Wow! It’s not every day that an owner leaves one team to purchase another team…in its own division. This is a very interesting development on a number of fronts. Our sources close to the situation expect changes at the top of the San Diego organization. How high up those changes go remain to be seen. From the looks of the Padres minor league system, scouting and player development might be the first to get a makeover.

It will also be interesting to see how this affects Kevin Towers, a potential Jake Peavy deal, and remaining off-season free agent acquisitions.