The Yankees will announce the hiring of former Padres GM Kevin Towers before spring, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. ESPN's Buster Olney had been predicting this since October.
Towers planned to meet with the Yankees, Mets, Mariners, and Red Sox during the Winter Meetings, reported MLB.com's Corey Brock. Towers later told Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune that he wanted to see how an American League team was put together. Click here to download Towers' Padres trade history, compiled by Brendan Bianowicz.
The Yankees even have good depth in the front office now. Ugh. Come on Mets!
I like towers. Seemed like a smart guy, but I wonder what role he’ll have.
I read that they would bring him on as a consultant but not a full time employee with a title because then his contract and remaining money from the Padres would be voided. not sure how accurate this info is anymore but thought I’d pass along the info. The guy has an eye for pitching and constructing bullpens, its a smart move by the Yankee brass to bring him on board
wow, i was gonna make a joke about how mets fans were gonna jump all over this one. too late. here’s the thing guys: kevin towers sucks at his job. real bad. so why would you want him? this, like bengie molina and jason marquis is not a loss. you’re not allowed to complain about not getting kevin towers. sorry.
CosaOne is right. On the pitching front, he’s got some goods.
I’d disagree that Towers sucks. He had a very limited budget in San Diego and there was a lot of ownership interference. Even if he does suck, Minaya is worse.
Let me guess: Towers “sucks at his job” because he drafted Matt Bush over Justin Verlander. Never mind the fact that his ownership wouldn’t give him the money to pay someone like Stephen Drew, Verlander, or Jered Weaver (all drafted in that same draft after Bush).
Please. Towers has done more with less than 90% of the GMs out there, including Omar Minaya.
guess again.traded chad gaudin…got “cash considerations”traded jake peavy for prospect package headed by aaron poreda. who? exactly.traded greg maddux… got “future considerations”traded randy wolf… got chad reineke. who? exactly.traded scott linebrink… got…uh “players”traded jack cust…got “future considerations”traded george kottaras…got the fattest ever recorded version of david wellslet joakim soria go… for nothing…etc…basically he had one good (awesome) trade for chris young and adrian gonzalez, beyond that he’s been just about as ho-hum as a GM can be… just my opinion.
Yeah, who’s ever heard of Aaron Poreda? The lowly 63rd ranked prospect in MLB according to Baseball America and their #2 prospect overall behind Gordon Beckham?
And how could he trade George Kottaras?! Or Greg Maddux when he was on the wrong side of 40 and no longer even a league average pitcher? And Chad Gaudin’s 5.13 ERA and 4.8 BB/9 with San Diego that season really was a hit to lose. Hanging onto Randy Wolf who was struggling in San Diego to let him go for nothing at season’s end would’ve been great.
Acquired Gonzalez and Young for nothing, extended Gonzo for nothing.
Acquired Heath Bell for nothing.
Acquired Kevin Kouzmanoff for nothing.
He’s given the Padres three of their best players of the past two seasons while sacrificing nothing. Trading these three could completely restock the farm system, which may have already started by acquiring Aaron Cunningham in the Kouzmanoff trade.
He managed to get four prospects including a Top 100 in baseball for an injured Jake Peavy who hadn’t thrown in months. You can cherry pick his failures on trading mediocre production, or you can look at some of the bigger names he’s drawn in for nothing. You think the Indians would trade Barfield back for Cunningham right now? I wonder…
Beat me to that reply Morneau MVP…
It’s funny, most Padres fans I know were actually lamenting the loss of KT, not celebrating it.
alright, just to change the tone…
you’re right, i certainly did cherry pick a little bit. my main point is that the premise i think a lot of mets fans seem to be forwarding is:
step1: get kevin towers
step2:
step3: profit
which doesn’t really add up to me. john lackey wasn’tt the single key to success in 2010, neither was jason marquis or bengie molina. jason bay probably does help. and the mets signed him. no one seemed to complain when david wright and jose reyes were healthy, you traded for oliver perez, luis castillo, carlos delgado, and johan santana, and signed carlos beltran to a monster contract. sure, there’s been plenty of bad luck with those contracts, but i don’t think that’s all minaya’s fault.
1. Gaudin has amounted to what?
2. Peavy signed his current contract when previous ownership was still in place. Moorad did not want his reasonable salary on the books and basically forced Towers’ hand.
3. Maddux had little trade value at the time he was dealt
4. Wolf, at the time, had very little value thanks to his injury history from 04-07
5. Linebrink was a product of Petco
6. Remind me which position Cust plays again? Or his reputation prior to his one average year in Oakland
7. Kottaras is nothing more than a backup C at the MLB level
8. Soria was a Rule 5 pick-up… he was not released.
I am not saying Towers is the best GM, but cut the guy some slack
alright, you got me mets fans. you’re right. the only reason you’re not going to win in 2010 is kevin towers.
stop…you are making a fool out of yourself.
thanks for your wise analysis, “putzoo”
Complaining about this as a Mets fan is valid. Towers is a very bright baseball mind, where as Minaya is not. The fact that Omar still has a job, and Towers could only get a consulting gig is ridiculous.
I dont think its that he could only get a consulting job, I think its more that he now gets to work with his best friend Cashman and get paid as a consultant all while simultaneously collecting his GM salary from the Padres. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me
Yeah, the Yankees didn’t want to screw him out of the money he’s getting paid, so, more or less, he will have a much more complex job than what his title will indicate.
The guy who since 2006 has traded Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka for Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young (and signed Gonzo to a 4-year, $9.5MM extension)… the guy who traded Jon Adkins and Ben Johnson for Heath Bell… traded Josh Barfield for Kevin Kouzmanoff…
Yeah, what’s he done right lately?
I thought this was already official.
Who cares really and plus the Wilpons already have Omars replacement and thats Ricco
I would have loved Jed Hoyer.
towers is ok but whats will his role be ahhhhh maybe a backup gm incase cashman needs to go on the dl…
Mr. Towers, meet Money. Money, meet Mr. Towers. Now I’m going to step out while you two get acquainted.
Towers probably did an extremely uplifting interpretive dance when he found out he’s actually going to be involved with a team with an ownership group that won’t oppress him.
Solid addition to the front office. Not that the Yankees should ever be confused for a small market team, but they seem to be reducing their payroll a bit. I think Cashman did a good job this winter making upgrades and sticking to a budget, but it’s always good to have a guy who has experience building a baseball team with limited funds.
mets fans need to stop talking because we are the ones with the rings. go get one then you can talk to us. why do u even care who we bring in? he will probably end up as our assistant gm. he could be head gm over minaya!!!! so be quiet!!!!
Can you imagine Tower’s shock at his first staff meeting. Cashman blows through about 1/3rd of the Padres budget just to bring in sandwiches and soda.
I’ve always liked Towers. The guy was a solid GM who was generally bound by significant payroll constraints.
minaya did a couple great things and a couple horrible things. I never saw the met fans praising him when he locked up reyes and wright on an affordable deals instead of going year through year. Really never got a lot of praise when he traded for Santana for who? Gomez? And I know for a fact he never got praised when he signed K Rod for 3 years when he wanted 5.
Great pickup for the FO by the Yanks. I’ve always been high on Towers, and to have another baseball mind in the front office for Cashman to consult with will be invaluable.
A man with an eye for pitching and young talent? Yes please.
Welcome, Towers. It’s nice to see you escape from obscurity.
I read a great quote yesterday. While (Yankees) Cashman has been ruthlessly efficient in the front office. I’m sorry, but you’d be hard pressed money or not, to find a better run organization in professional sports. Literally every single move made by the Yankee’s has been stunningly sharp. Not withstanding, we shed a great deal of payroll this season and frankly, in my opinion, have gotten noticeably better in many areas.
People will argue that the Yanks didn’t win for 9 years on a huge budget, perhaps, but let me be the first to remind you, they have been playoff contenders every single year, missing only once in nearly the last 2 decades. Result; we are excited to watch games, have no problem spending money on concessions and actually going to games. Odds have been 3-1 that go to a game and see the Yanks win. Drop $100 on a sausage hero, two beers and a ticket is nothing that I am concerned about. Well worth it in my opinion. Especially when many people probably blow through twice that on an average Friday or Saturday night, wake up the next morning, feel sick and have little to show for it.
This is not all the work of Cashman, but no one should argue the Yankee’s are packed with talent on and off the field.
I kind of envy Cashman, one business man to another.
Yeah the Met’s. The word sad, would be an understatement. I am a New York native and I’d love nothing more to see the Mets succeed also. As someone so aptly pointed out yesterday; maybe the all Hispanic team was not such a good idea. There are some screwy things going in Queens these last few years.
Who is “we”? I think by “we” you mean “you”. “You” have no problem spending a $100+ dollars on parking/beer/concessions. A family of 4 from Yonkers is not “we”. The dad from the family of 4 is not blacking out in Manhattan every Friday and Saturday night.
It’s as if you’re completely forgeting the Jaret Wright signings of the world… or the publically embarassing Arod “We don’t want him!” negotiations started by your owner who’d rather tend horses (these are documented facts).
But whatever… keep at it. You’re the best org in professional sports. This is seriously an embarrassing post if you’re a Yankee fan.
I agree. While some points of his post were nice, I have the same problems you do.I don’t bother spending money on anything in the Stadium anymore, unless it is for important apparel (like the Opening Day shirt I got last year). When it comes to food, there are so many sandwich places around the area that I just spend 20 bucks on whole bunch of stuff that you’d spend about 100 bucks on in the stadium. And since they don’t stop you from bringing in outside food, it’s much more convenient.Cashman never really had power until 2008 (George was the one running the show, as we all know), and he messed up the first time around, though that had more to do with a lack of a free agent class to explore. To his credit, he called the Twins bluff and told them to screw off when it came to Johan. In 09, though, with a much stronger free agent class and much money coming off the books, he didn’t disappoint.
Well, I can respect that you’re a family man, however spare me a little of the drama.
I’m not sure what you expect. $14 tickets per person? Last I checked it’s not 1939 anymore and in case you have not been following things much, this is not the Florida Marlins. I do not think prices are all that ridiculous for “us” you know the non millionaire types. A ticket for $68.00 is not that bad. I mean how many games does someone really go to? I go to about 3 or 4 per season and please who are we to kid, half those are probably games where the tickets were given to you or me. If you don’t want to spend money on the vendors there, then fine. In reality, there are probably many people that go to games without spending a nickel.
I don’t want to get into a shouting match, but if you have a tv in every room and a video game system or two (you have kids, so I’ll assume this close to being correct) then you’re argument is flawed. Me I don’t have either. So it’s all about how we each, individually, spend our own earned money and I’ll say it again, I do not see anything wrong with spending $100.00 for a day in the sun at a Yankee game where the odds are, I’ll watch them win.