7:44pm: Stewart and the Diamondbacks are closing in on a multi-year agreement to make Stewart the new GM in Arizona, Nightengale tweets. An official announcement could come on Friday now, rather than Thursday, as had previously been reported.

6:01pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports now hear that Watson is likely to leave the Dodgers and accept an assistant GM position with the Diamondbacks (Twitter link).

4:26pm: Nightengale writes that the D’Backs are still hoping to hire Watson as an assistant GM, but he is expected to remain with the Dodgers.

2:52pm: Stewart says he is transferring his agency business to former teammate Dave Henderson, reports John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. That would presumably clear the way for Stewart to take the D’Backs job.

Though Stewart did not comment as to whether he had been offered the position, his comments certainly left the impression that he was preparing to take the reigns in Arizona. “As an agent, I’m not challenged every day,” he said. “But this job is 24 hours every day, and I’m looking forward to that.”

12:12pm: The job has “officially” been offered to Stewart, though discussions are still ongoing, tweets Nightengale.

12:01pm: Stewart tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he has yet to be told that he has been chosen for the position, but hopes that he is. “My name, Allard [Baird] and De Jon [Watson] are three names that are, as far as I know, are the last names that are left,” said Stewart. “I do know that by my last conversation with Tony [La Russa], he planned to let us know within the course of today. That does not mean it’s going to happen today but I know it was their plan to give us an indication. We’re sitting on pins and needles, too.”

11:29am: The team is “deep in negotiations” with Stewart on a contractual arrangement, but the sides have yet to reach agreement, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

10:29am: The Diamondbacks are set to offer the club’s open GM position to Dave Stewart, sources tell Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Stewart, 57, has long been said to be the top candidate for the post.

The former big league pitcher, coach, and assistant GM is currently a player agent. Stewart’s broad experience carries obvious appeal, and it surely does not hurt that he has a strong history with D’backs chief baseball officer Tony La Russa, his former manager with the Athletics.

It is not yet known whether an offer has formally been made, Heyman adds, let alone whether a deal has been worked out. This employment situation could be trickier than usual since Stewart would need to figure out what to do with his agency business. Of course, he has now had plenty of time to consider that question, and Stewart has indicated that he would be strongly inclined to take the job if offered.