Kevin Towers Praised by Former Long Time General Manager Jim Bowden
Kevin Towers may not have made the biggest splash out of all the general manager’s in baseball this offseason, but ESPN commentator and long time GM of the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals Jim Bowden thinks that Towers had the third most impact out of all the GM’s in helping the Diamondbacks win now.
Bowden released his Top Five list last week. Not surprisingly, Jerry Dipoto, a former Diamondbacks executive, and Larry Beinfest were placed ahead of Towers after making all sorts of big moves this offseason. Then again, both had the money and the resources to go out and made those deals, a luxury Towers didn’t have.
This is what Bowden said about Towers and the moves he has made thus far.
Very quietly, Towers has had one of the best offseasons of any GM in baseball. The acquisition of former 18-game winner Trevor Cahill solidified a young rotation that already included Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson and Josh Collmenter. Towers also added solid relievers in Craig Breslow and Takashi Saito. In fact, Towers so coveted Breslow, he refused to pull the trigger on the Cahill deal until Breslow was included. Arizona added left-handed power by signing former Twins outfielder Jason Kubel. Towers put the Diamondbacks in the driver’s seat to at least repeat as NL West champions and push further in the postseason.
When looking at the moves that Towers has made this offseason, he has clearly improved this team. Cahill is not only an upgrade over Joe Saunders for this season, but for the future as well with the right-hander being only 24 years old. The offense got better too by adding Kubel in left field.
Towers most remarkable work over the last two years is what he has done with the Arizona bullpen. In 2010, the D’Backs had one of the worst ‘pens imaginable, but after signing JJ Putz and trading for David Hernandez, the unit became one of the best in the National League by lowering their ERA by more than a run last season.
This offseason, Towers has improved on the depth of the bullpen. Breslow will be the second left-hander that Kirk Gibson can turn to behind Joe Paterson. Saito has been outstanding ever since coming over from Japan and if he is healthy, he will fit in nicely in the seventh inning role behind Putz and Hernandez.
Don’t look for Towers to stop improving this club either. Arizona is currently looking for a fifth starter and might be in need of a third baseman once the Trade Deadline rolls around if Ryan Roberts struggles. In his time on the job, Towers has proven that he isn’t bashful to make the moves necessary to add W’s to the D’Backs win column.
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