Yes, this excuse was used for Rick Hahn and the general response was that if it was so bad, he could just have not taken the job.
GMs with tighter leashes were able to build rosters that weren't on track to be the worst team in major league history.
As someone who loves Duke Ellis, it'd be insane to have him skip AAA for anything short of having him as an emergency bench guy.
The team needs to let all of their prospects go up through the normal cycles.