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Coming off a year in which his organization had “significant losses” and was forced to cut more than a quarter of its front-office staff, Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall said it was “far-fetched” to expect the club to enter next season with a payroll in line with where it was this year.

Hall said the Diamondbacks tentatively are planning to go into the offseason with a number of potential financial scenarios for next year, adding that the club won’t be able to move forward until it gets a better sense for what the world might look like in 2021.

“It’s going to take some time (this offseason) before we know exactly what that direction will be and what the payroll will look like,” Hall said. “I can’t put a number on it yet. We want to win and I believe we’ve got a lot of good talent here.”

The Diamondbacks opened this year with a payroll approaching $120 million, though that was before the shortened schedule cut that figure by nearly one-third. They have more than $60 million in guaranteed contracts for next year’s team.

With the Diamondbacks heading toward a possible last-place finish in the division, Hall called the club’s play “disappointing.” He said the team could not blame the results on the length of the season, noting that every club has played under the same conditions. He said the organization would have to do “a lot of soul searching” and “answer some questions” about what went wrong.

But he took a similar approach as General Manager Mike Hazen in using the short season to sort of insulate all parties — players, coaches, front office — from blame or potential fallout.

“I would never say never, but I have had no indication that anyone wants to make changes as a result of this year,” Hall said. “It’s so difficult to judge the performance of either leadership or the majority of the players in such a short and strange season.

“It may not have worked out well for us and I think there’s obviously nearly half the teams that could say the same thing and be disappointed, but it’s too short a season, in a strange season, to make those judgment calls. I’m excited to turn the page, start over and see how we do with guys that we have a lot of confidence in down there.”

Hall said the usual meetings between the front office and ownership that take place shortly after the end of the season will be put on hold “until we have a better grip on where this thing is going.”

Hall said he has been encouraged to see fans back in attendance in other professional sports and is hopeful the Diamondbacks will be able to welcome fans back next year. But even if they are cleared to open their doors without restrictions, Hall anticipates revenues won’t be the same as they were in previous years.

“I know we have an ownership group that likes to push the envelope as far as we possibly can,” Hall said. “We’re lucky to have that. I may have (owners) Ken (Kendrick) and Jeff (Royer) say, ‘No, let’s do it. Let’s get payroll back up,’ if we do have no restrictions on fans here.”

The Diamondbacks laid off or furloughed more than 100 employees in May. Hall described those cuts as the club trying to “swing a heavy stick.” That said, he said he could not make assurances that there would be no further cutbacks — “I can never say never” — and he praised his front office for doing more with less. Asked how the club balances trying to bring back employees or prevent future staff reductions with payroll considerations, Hall made clear where the priority lies.

“We’re in the business of playing baseball,” Hall said. “We’re in the business of hopefully winning games. The most important thing is the product on the field.”

Among the other topics Hall touched on during a session with reporters on Saturday:

*Hall said the club is “not worried” about the struggles of left-hander Madison Bumgarner despite the fact he still has $79 million owed to him over the next four years. “We’re excited about it still to this day,” he said, adding, “I don’t want to second-guess that decision at all.”

*The pandemic has forced the club to table all talks about a potential new ballpark. “In this economy,” he said, “it doesn’t make sense to even kick the tires or talk to anybody.” He said the team had already put it on the backburner before the virus struck, though the pandemic also has cut into the club’s ability to host concerts and other events that it had hoped would generate revenue. He said the team also had to stop construction on its new facility in the Dominican Republic due to the pandemic.

*Assuming fans are allowed back next year, “we’ll make sure that they do it in a very comfortable and confident way, in a safe way.” He said the team would have been ready to implement a variety of new safety measures this season had it been cleared to let fans inside.

*He said ownership did not order the baseball operations staff to cut payroll at the trade deadline. “Ken’s exact quote to Mike was, ‘Look, don’t feel pressured to move any payroll,’” Hall said. “He said, ‘At the end of the season, if our payroll and our roster is exactly the same as it is today, I’m not going to lose any sleep.’”

*Hall said he likes the idea of expanded playoffs sticking around in future seasons, in no small part because of the Diamondbacks’ placement in the National League West with the juggernaut that is the Los Angeles Dodgers. “It’s a good thing for us,” Hall said.

Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.

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