5:58pm: As ESPN.com's Buster Olney notes, the Red Sox have contacted the Padres about the availability of Gonzalez, but two major obstacles stand in their way.
"No. 1, the Padres would require an extraordinary package of prospects in any deal for Gonzalez, who is young, relatively cheap and a star," Olney writes.
"The second hurdle would be whether the San Diego ownership would approve the deal and risk angering the team's fan base even more." Keep in mind the Padres came close to dealing staff ace Jake Peavy this season and cut ties with all-time saves leader (and fan favorite) Trevor Hoffman this winter.
1:18pm: MLB.com's Corey Brock adds to this, stating that the Padres are getting more calls about Bell than Gonzalez, according to Towers. Brock echoes that it's unlikely we'll see Gonzalez or Bell dealt, but says that Towers feels the conversations he's had regarding Gonzalez and Bell could prove to be very valuable if the club considers trading them in the offseason. He also quotes Towers, saying:
"I could see a couple of smaller deals," Towers said.
Brock names Kevin Correia and Kevin Kouzmanoff as people who could attract some attention, but so far, neither has drawn much interest.
12:11pm: The Padres "were getting a lot of play" on first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and closer Heath Bell as of yesterday according to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, but "club sources were adamant that interested clubs would have to overpay to acquire either." On Friday we learned that the Red Sox had expressed interest in Gonzalez, who is under contract next season for just $4.75MM with a 2011 club option worth just $5.5MM.
Brown says that the "asking price has been so high that Bell might as well be unavailable," and quotes a baseball personnel man as saying "There are about eight good arms available out there and 20 teams looking.”
