Kevin Towers is Taking Care of Business

Putting Upton on the trade block was just part of Towers' master plan.

I was quite surprised when longtime GM Kevin Towers was fired by the San Diego Padres in 2009. The team had just spun off two disappointing seasons in a row, but this followed the heels of a one-game playoff loss to Colorado in 2007, and Towers had been in charge of the Friars going all the way back to the team’s last World Series appearance in 1998. The Diamondbacks pulled a similarly confusing move when they canned Josh Byrnes last summer, who had gotten his club back to October after the Snakes’ pitiful run in the mid-2000s . Sporting one of the worst bullpens in Major League history, it seemed that Arizona’s pitching ailments needed a dose of KT’s medicine. He officially came on board soon after the conclusion of the 2010 campaign. Even during this short tenure, Towers has managed to stamp his name brand on the team with a few slick transactions, most of which should instantly rectify the pitching staff.

Towers showcased his ability to find underrated hurlers in San Diego, and he’s wasted little time in performing the same service in the desert. He snagged Zach Duke from Pittsburgh for a PTBNL, signed J.J. Putz to a very reasonable two-year, $10 million deal and traded Mark Reynolds to the Orioles for relievers David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio. Melvin Mora also inked a two-year deal to play third base in Reynold’s absence. Each of the players heading to Arizona was relatively cheap, and it’s not inconceivable that these moves alone will get the D’Backs close to contention. The Padres do not have the pieces to win 90 games again, the Dodgers are hardly any better than they were last year and Colorado will be hard pressed to get the same production out of their pitchers that they got in 2010. The Giants are still intact, but you’d have to think that their offense is still far too weak to simply hand them the division. Arizona certainly has a chance to make a splash. The Upton trade rumors were likely nothing more than a ploy to get some team to overpay for a star player with several years of team control attached. No one bit the bait, and Towers must have known that the 2011 squad would have been worse in just about any trade scenario.

Duke will presumably serve as the 4th or 5th starter, which is what he is. Hernandez may get a shot at the rotation, but I’d bet on him pitching in the late innings if anything. Mickolio should serve a similar purpose, although he’s less of a proven commodity (not that Hernandez is). Putz has the inside track on the closer’s role and should be the team’s best reliever. Mora figures to swing an average to above-average bat (Bill James predicts a 104 wRC+). Defensively, he may cost the team a few runs, but Reynolds was pretty bad at the hot corner and may end up being more of a first baseman in the future. All in all, these additions coupled with the inevitable improvement of younger players on the team like Ian Kennedy, Dan Hudson and Justin Upton should net the team a handful of wins. If they do nothing more from here on out, I’d expect them to end up around .500, with the potential for more wins if the bullpen can hold leads.

Kevin Towers probably has a few more tricks up his sleeve, but now that he’s put together a competitive reliever corps, he’ll probably hold off on any big moves unless something irresistible comes along. I’m interested to see how this bunch performs in 2011.