In need of a general manager, the Arizona Diamondbacks went out and got someone who knows the National League West very well.
The Diamondbacks introduced former San Diego Padres’ GM Kevin Towers as their new GM and third full-time GM in their history on Wednesday. Towers replaces Jerry Dipoto, who was the interim GM.
This move represents another talent swap between the Diamondbacks and Padres.
Jeff Moorad went from being the partial owner of the Diamondbacks to the CEO of the Padres. AJ Hinch, who managed the Diamondbacks and was fired by Arizona in July, is now the VP of Professional Scouting for the Padres. And now Towers is going from the Padres to the Diamondbacks.
I really like this move by the Diamondbacks. I thought Towers got a raw deal in San Diego and did his job very well despite having a terrible ownership situation the majority of the time.
Towers certainly has his work cut out for him taking this position. He takes over a franchise that has a mediocre at best minor league system and has finished last in the NL West the last two seasons.
He does have a good nucleus at the major league level to work with. Justin Upton, Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds, Miguel Montero, and Daniel Hudson is a good group to build around.
Towers’ three immediate priorities should be replenishing the minor league system with talent, deciding whether or not to keep Kirk Gibson as manager (I think he should), and figuring out how to fix the Diamondbacks’ bullpen. The Diamondbacks have the worst bullpen by far in the majors this season. Towers built very good bullpens in San Diego, so perhaps he can do the same in Arizona.
Towers was signed a two-year deal by Arizona with a couple of option years.
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