Towers did look pretty bad here.

Towers did look pretty bad here.

Yeah. He's in a tough spot because of Moores very public problems, though. Still, I think GM's need to learn that trades are more fun when they come out of nowhere. Thank you Kenny WIlliams and Billy Beane! You guys get it.

I think the team that eventually gets Peavy is going to get him at a very discounted rate. The Padres have no leverage and everyone knows it. They are in an even worse situation than the Twins were last season with Santana.

Man, if the Braves can end up with Peavy now for even less than they offered before, I'll be a happy camper. I still think it's an outside shot at best, but an outside shot at highway robbery is better than nothing!

It seemed that Towers wanted to draw in the Dodgers into the Peavy sweepstakes, but then screwed up when he also said he's would look more from the Dodgers due to being an divisional rival. If you really think the Dodgers have the best offer, why would you scare them away like that?

A very good read, worth the click-through.

As the author notes, this entire affair does put something of a dent in Kevin Towers' reputation as a great GM. This has really been a bungle from start to finish.

Go get him, Omar!

Jon Daniels comes out of nowhere pretty often too -- Danks-McCarthy was pretty unexpected, as was the crown jewel, Hamilton-Volquez.

It's November, there's lots of time to trade Peavy yet. As for the no leverage thing, maybe they would have little leverage if Peavy was dead set on joining the Yankees or something, but having a cheap and good starter on the block means you should draw plenty of interest.

As for things appearing in the media or not, I think that is just a question of style, it's mostly frustrating for fans that has to endure an endless foreplay.

Chef, Peavy has a NTC and he's basically said that he's only willing to go to handful of teams. If he maintains that stance and the owner is telling Towers Peavy has to go, the team that acquires him could get him at a very discounted price.

Given what Ryan Dempster just got, then Peavy at an average of $15M over 4 years is still a very good bargain.

This is a bit unfair to Towers. No one involved seems offended by the situation. The Braves didn't rule out a trade, they just said get back to us when you're ready to deal. They decided to pursue other outlets before the free-agent market passed them by. Now, if the Braves can't sign Sabathia, Lowe, or Burnett; Wren may be the one returning to Towers on his knees. The game is far from over here. Most reporters following the discussions feel the deal will go down, as the Braves appear to have an Escobar burning a hole in their pocket. If anything, the Braves offer probably signaled how desperate they are for him, so Towers is holding back.

I'm not sure if the leaks are coming from the Padres. The Cubs rumors were clearly coming from the Cubs, and the Braves have been blabbing about moving Escobar or Johnson since September. The no-trade clause matters, whether or not the discussion is public. Do you think Peavy will be more likely to accept surprise deals? He signed a below-market deal in return for a no-trade clause. That's how this works.

And Peavy seems to be handling the situation quite well. Axelrod and Towers are friends and are acting like it. Peavy said where he would like to play and Towers has attempted to meet his requests. When Towers couldn't find a fit, Peavy said that he might be open to expanding his list.

I don't think Towers screwed this up that badly. Basically he didn't make a bad trade and get pennies on the dollar for Peavy. As #12 says, Peavy might be willing to go elsewhere after seeing that Towers at least tried to make something work with the Teams on his list (of which he can see because of the "openness" of the negotiations).

Axelrod certainly isn't helping the situation by publicly announcing which teams Peavy will go to under his current contract terms, and which teams will need to pony up extra money to get him to waive his no trade clause.

But yeah, I agree that Towers' work here has been less than stellar. We'll see what kind of package he ends up with.

I'm not sure if the leaks are coming from the Padres. The Cubs rumors were clearly coming from the Cubs,

Huh? The San Diego papers quoting Kevin Towers:

"It's really come down to one club now –- the Cubs," he said. "It's going to take awhile. They have a couple of players to pick from that we are interested in but anything with them is going to potentially involve a third team or fourth team. We're focusing only on them."

[Edit: Linky from the SD Union-Tribune]

I'm hesitant to criticize HOW a GM handles a given transaction until that transaction is completed or dies. That being said, I'm not sure how Towers came to be considered a "great GM" (as someone upthread put it). That may be his reputation, but he seems to have started strong (best teams were in his 1st and 3rd years as GM) and then fallen off. San Diego hasn't won 90 games since 1998, and the team's overall record since the start of his tenure is 1033-1074.

Jon Daniels comes out of nowhere pretty often too -- Danks-McCarthy was pretty unexpected, as was the crown jewel, Hamilton-Volquez.

This is true, but he's going to keep making terrible trades, I'd rather he create a maelstrom of publicity, then fail to consummate the deal.

The article seems a bit nieve, that Towers could work with Peavy and the Cubs and Braves in a cone of silence, and everyone would behave. All it takes is one person to spill the beans, that the whole thing goes out the window.

As someone said above, talk to me when the deal is done.