Nats hire longtime scout De Jon Watson as special assistant

By Mark Zuckerman

Nationals

January 06, 2017, 8:28am

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The Nationals have made an addition to their pro scouting staff, hiring De Jon Watson as a special assistant to the general manager.

Watson spent the last two seasons as senior vice president of baseball operations for the Diamondbacks, overseeing the club's scouting and player development programs. Arizona let him go in September, electing not to pick up his contract option for 2017, one of several moves the franchise made in a front office shakeup.

A veteran of 31 seasons in professional baseball, Watson has previously worked for the Marlins, Reds, Indians and Dodgers, much of that time spent in scouting management positions.

While with the Dodgers, he oversaw a farm system that developed Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig and Dee Gordon. While with the Diamondbacks, he helped draft No. 1 pick Dansby Swanson (who was later traded to the Braves) and sign Cuban players Yasmany Tomas and Yoan Lopez.

Watson now joins Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo's deep staff of special assistants, which last year included 10 men: Steve Arnieri, Chuck Cottier, Mike Cubbage, Michael Daughtry, Dan Jennings, Ron Rizzi, Jay Robertson, Bob Schaefer, Terry Wetzel and Jeff Zona.