I've been wanting to take a look at Kevin Towers' trading record for some time, and I finally have the data I need to do it. Transactions come from a variety of sources, most notably the San Diego Padres Unofficial Home Page (especially for the older stuff). The stats are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com

Towers was promoted from scouting director to general manager November 17, 1995, when he replaced Randy Smith. The latter, now maligned as the Tigers' GM, was something of a wunderkind at the time, managing to acquire several key young players during the 1993 fire sale despite having virtually no leverage. The promotion of Towers was a bold move by an organization searching for an identity, and although losing the promising young Smith was seen as a blow in many circles, Towers stepped up and held his own before really hitting his stride and taking the Padres to the next level.

We'll examine Towers' trades one calendar year at a time, starting with 1996 (including the tail end of 1995). Originally I'd hoped to use Bill James' Value Approximation Method but that seemed like more trouble than it was worth so I've decided on a more organic approach. For each trade I've laid out the date of the deal, the principals involved, and any stats accumulated as a member of the new team. I've also included brief commentary about the context in which each trade was made and, of course, who "won" the deal.

12/15/95: Traded Pedro Martinez (P) to the New York Mets for Jeff Barry (OF)

Pedro A. Martinez 
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   W   L   G  GS  CG SHO SV     IP    H   ER  HR   BB   SO   ERA
 1996 27 NYM NL   0   0   5   0   0   0  0    7.0    8    5   1    7    6  6.43

This is the "other" Pedro Martinez. How would you like to go through life as "the other" Joe Schmoe? Anyway, not much of a deal here. Martinez, after having experienced brief success in parts of 1993 and 1994 with the Padres, was dealt to the Astros in the trade that brought Ken Caminiti and Steve Finley to San Diego. Martinez returned to the Pads after a lackluster season in Houston but was traded to the Mets over the winter, where he worked seven ineffective innings before moving on to the Reds and then disappearing altogether.

Barry had had 15 at-bats with the Mets in 1995 but never made it to the big club in San Diego. He eventually resurfaced for parts of 1998 and 1999 as a member of the Colorado Rockies.

Verdict Yawn. What a way to begin your first job as GM of a big-league club. Martinez did almost nothing for his new club, Barry did even less. This is too bland even to merit a tie. Who cares?

12/21/95: Traded Bip Roberts (OF) and Bryan Wolff (P) to Kansas City for Wally Joyner (1B) and Aaron Dorlarque (P).

Wally Joyner
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO    BA   OBP   SLG
 1996 34 SDP NL 121  433   59  120  29  1   8   65   5  3  69  71  .277  .377  .404
 1997 35 SDP NL 135  455   59  149  29  2  13   83   3  5  51  51  .327  .390  .486
 1998 36 SDP NL 131  439   58  131  30  1  12   80   1  2  51  44  .298  .370  .453
 1999 37 SDP NL 110  323   34   80  14  2   5   43   0  1  58  54  .248  .363  .350

Bip Roberts
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO    BA   OBP   SLG
 1996 32 KCR AL  90  339   39   96  21  2   0   52  12  9  25  38  .283  .331  .357
 1997 33 KCR AL  97  346   44  107  17  2   1   36  15  3  21  53  .309  .348  .379

The first significant trade Towers made saw him bring in former college teammate Joyner to solidify the first base position until prospect Derrek Lee was ready. Joyner, clearly in the decline phase of his career, brought good on-base skills, above-average glovework, and a sense of professionalism that permeated the Padre clubhouse. Joyner enjoyed three solid seasons with the Pads before slipping in 1999 and ultimately being traded to the Braves.

Roberts, used primarily as an outfielder in 1995, returned to second base with the Royals, where he put up pedestrian numbers before moving on to Cleveland toward the end of 1997 and retiring after the 1998 season.

Wolff and Dorlarque never made it to the bigs.

Verdict With his veteran presence and solid all-around play, Joyner makes this one advantage Padres.

03/17/96: Traded Roberto Petagine (1B) and Luis Arroyo (P) to the New York Mets for Pete Walker (P) and Scott Adair (P).

Roberto Petagine
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO    BA   OBP   SLG
 1996 25 NYM NL  50   99   10   23   3  0   4   17   0  2   9  27  .232  .312  .384
 1997 26 NYM NL  12   15    2    1   0  0   0    2   0  0   3   6  .067  .222  .067

Pete Walker 
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   W   L   G  GS  CG SHO SV     IP    H   ER  HR   BB   SO   ERA
 1996 27 SDP NL   0   0   1   0   0   0  0    0.7    0    0   0    3    1  0.00

Once a promising young first-base prospect in the Houston system, Petagine came to the Padres in the Caminiti/Finley deal and set the NL on fire for two months as a rookie in 1995 before having his inability to handle anything other than fastballs exploited the rest of the way. He played with the Mets for parts of two seasons before heading out to Japan via Cincinnati. On the heels of some terrific seasons in the Far East, rumors abound of Petagine's return to the States, which no doubt will please followers of his cult.

Walker faced five batters as a Padre. His big-league career has been similarly nondescript.

Arroyo and Adair were nonfactors.

Verdict Although he contributed little to the Mets in his brief time with the club, Petagine's status as cult figure tips the scales in favor of the Mets but not by as much as his followers would have you believe.

03/22/96: Traded Melvin Nieves (OF), Raul Casanova (C), and Richie Lewis (P) to the Detroit Tigers for Sean Bergman (P), Cade Gaspar (P) and Todd Steverson (OF).

Melvin Nieves
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO    BA   OBP   SLG
 1996 24 DET AL 120  431   71  106  23  4  24   60   1  2  44 158  .246  .322  .485
 1997 25 DET AL 116  359   46   82  18  1  20   64   1  7  39 157  .228  .311  .451

Raul Casanova 
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO    BA   OBP   SLG
 1996 23 DET AL  25   85    6   16   1  0   4    9   0  0   6  18  .188  .242  .341
 1997 24 DET AL 101  304   27   74  10  1   5   24   1  1  26  48  .243  .308  .332
 1998 25 DET AL  16   42    4    6   2  0   1    3   0  0   5  10  .143  .250  .262
 
Richie Lewis
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   W   L   G  GS  CG SHO SV     IP    H   ER  HR   BB   SO   ERA
 1996 30 DET AL   4   6  72   0   0   0  2   90.3   78   42   9   65   78  4.18

Sean Bergman
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   W   L   G  GS  CG SHO SV     IP    H   ER  HR   BB   SO   ERA
 1996 26 SDP NL   6   8  41  14   0   0  0  113.3  119   55  14   33   85  4.37
 1997 27 SDP NL   2   4  44   9   0   0  0   99.0  126   67  11   38   74  6.09

Todd Steverson
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO    BA   OBP   SLG
 1996 24 SDP NL   1    1    0    0   0  0   0    0   0  0   0   1  .000  .000  .000

Nieves came to the Padres during the fire sale of 1993, as part of the Fred McGriff deal (then-GM Smith settled for the big young outfielder with the big swing after being rebuffed in his effort to acquire another young slugger, Ryan Klesko). His occasional bursts of extreme power from both sides of the plate were punctuated by more prolonged bursts of strikeouts in the vein of Rob Deer (or Russ Branyan, for the younger crowd). After teasing the Pads and Tigers, Nieves made his exit from baseball after 119 at-bats with Cincy in 1998, at the ripe old age of 26.

Casanova, originally a member of the Mets farm system, had a monster year in the California League in 1994 but fell out of favor with the Padres due to questionable defense and work habits. With 1995 first-round pick Ben Davis waiting in the wings, Casanova was deemed expendable. The switch-hitter received an extended shot in 1997 but didn't hit enough for a catcher with mediocre defensive abilities and moved on to Milwaukee, where he has blossomed into a solid backup.

Lewis, a journeyman righthander, had arguably his best season in the bigs in 1996 despite not being able to throw strikes with any consistency. He slowly faded from the scene shortly thereafter.

On the Padres' side, Towers was captivated by Bergman and his low-90s sinking fastball, viewing the young righthander as another potential Andy Ashby. Unfortunately, Bergman, despite showing flashes in 1996, never amounted to more than a mediocre swingman in San Diego, although he did put up some nice numbers in 1998 after being shipped to the Astros. His career is a bit reminiscent of Kent Bottenfield's, although at a lower level.

Gaspar never reached the bigs. Steverson, with whom I attended high school, had a very brief career in the Show and generally failed to meet expectations after being drafted #25 overall by the Toronto Blue Jays out of Arizona State.

Verdict Nieves' inability to make contact and the fact that Casanova didn't turn into a useful player until after he left Detroit keep this from being a complete disaster but Towers' former boss definitely got the better end; advantage Tigers.

06/18/96: Traded Brad Ausmus (C), Andujar Cedeno (SS), and Russ Spear (P) to Detroit for John Flaherty (C) and Chris Gomez (SS).

Brad Ausmus
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO    BA   OBP   SLG
 1996 27 DET AL  75  226   30   56  12  0   4   22   3  4  26  45  .248  .328  .354

Andujar Cedeno
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO    BA   OBP   SLG
 1996 26 DET AL  52  179   19   35   4  2   7   20   2  1   4  37  .196  .213  .358

John Flaherty
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO    BA   OBP   SLG
 1996 28 SDP NL  72  264   22   80  12  0   9   41   2  3   9  36  .303  .327  .451
 1997 29 SDP NL 129  439   38  120  21  1   9   46   4  4  33  62  .273  .323  .387

Chris Gomez 
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO    BA   OBP   SLG
 1996 25 SDP NL  89  328   32   86  16  1   3   29   2  2  39  64  .262  .349  .345
 1997 26 SDP NL 150  522   62  132  19  2   5   54   5  8  53 114  .253  .326  .326
 1998 27 SDP NL 145  449   55  120  32  3   4   39   1  3  51  87  .267  .346  .379
 1999 28 SDP NL  76  234   20   59   8  1   1   15   1  2  27  49  .252  .331  .308
 2000 29 SDP NL  33   54    4   12   0  0   0    3   0  0   7   5  .222  .306  .222
 2001 30 SDP NL  40  112    6   21   3  0   0    7   1  0   9  14  .187  .244  .214

Ausmus, originally drafted by the Yankees, then lost to Colorado in the expansion draft, was another acquisition by Smith during the 1993 fire sale, coming over with Andy Ashby and Doug Bochtler for Greg W. Harris and Bruce Hurst's contract. After a solid (.293/.353/.412) 1995 campaign, Ausmus began 1996 in a deep slump and was sent packing. He then was traded to Houston after the season.

Cedeno, yet another part of the Caminiti/Finley deal, after a promising 1993 season with the Astros, slipped somewhat in 1994 and completely fell apart on arriving in San Diego. Out of baseball by age 26, Cedeno tragically was killed in a car crash in his native Dominican Republic in November 2000.

Flaherty, nicknamed "Flash" for his profound lack of footspeed, solidified the Pads' catching situation. One of the more popular players among fans, Flaherty enjoyed two solid seasons in San Diego before being dealt to Tampa Bay. Infielder Andy Sheets, acquired as part of the latter trade, eventually himself was traded for Phil Nevin.

Gomez, a former first-round pick out of Long Beach State, played a steadier if less spectacular shortstop than Cedeno and provided occasional offensive help at the bottom of the order. Though far from a star, Gomez, like Flaherty, helped give stability to a key position for several years before battling knee injuries and ultimately moving on, like Flaherty, to the Devil Rays.

Verdict Ausmus and Cedeno didn't do much for the Tigers and left Detroit following the 1996 season. Flaherty gave the Padres two solid seasons and indirectly played a part in the acquisition of Nevin some years later. Gomez gave the Pads their best shortstop since Garry Templeton. Big advantage Padres.

07/31/96: Traded Marc Newfield (OF), Ron Villone (P), and Bryce Florie (P) to Milwaukee for Greg Vaughn (OF) and a player to be named later (Gerald Parent, OF, 09/16/96).

Marc Newfield 
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO    BA   OBP   SLG
 1996 23 MIL AL  49  179   21   55  15  0   7   31   0  1  11  26  .307  .354  .508
 1997 24 MIL AL  50  157   14   36   8  0   1   18   0  0  14  27  .229  .295  .299
 1998 25 MIL NL  93  186   15   44   7  0   3   25   0  1  19  29  .237  .306  .323

Ron Villone
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   W   L   G  GS  CG SHO SV     IP    H   ER  HR   BB   SO   ERA
 1996 26 MIL AL   0   0  23   0   0   0  2   24.7   14    9   4   18   19  3.28
 1997 27 MIL AL   1   0  50   0   0   0  0   52.7   54   20   4   36   40  3.42
 
Bryce Florie
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   W   L   G  GS  CG SHO SV     IP    H   ER  HR   BB   SO   ERA
 1996 26 MIL AL   0   1  15   0   0   0  0   19.0   20   14   3   13   12  6.63
 1997 27 MIL AL   4   4  32   8   0   0  0   75.0   74   36   4   42   53  4.32

Greg Vaughn
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO    BA   OBP   SLG
 1996 30 SDP NL  43  141   20   29   3  1  10   22   4  1  24  31  .206  .329  .454
 1997 31 SDP NL 120  361   60   78  10  0  18   57   7  4  56 110  .216  .322  .393
 1998 32 SDP NL 158  573  112  156  28  4  50  119  11  4  79 121  .272  .363  .597

This was a pretty significant trade for Towers, as it marked the first time since the 1993 fire sale that the Padres had made an aggressive move for the present rather than the future. Newfield and Villone had come to the Padres in July 1995 as part of a deal that sent righthander Andy Benes to the Mariners. Both were good young players who never quite reached their potential in San Diego. After flourishing with the Brewers toward the end of 1996, Newfield slumped badly the following season and never did establish himself as a big-league regular. Villone enjoyed two solid season in Milwaukee before being shipped off to the Indians in a deal for Marquis Grissom.

Florie's stay with the Brewers was decidedly less successful, and he has since given roughly league-average production for the Tigers and Red Sox. His biggest claim to fame is suffering a horrific eye injury thanks to a line drive off the bat of the Yankees' Ryan Thompson. Florie did make it back to the mound in 2001, and although he was ineffective, it was good to see him out there again.

In Vaughn the Padres had their first legitimate home-run threat from the right side since Gary Sheffield left town in the 1993 fire sale. Although he struggled on arriving in San Diego in 1996 and again the following season (so much so that he was dealt to the Yankees the following July for southpaw Kenny Rogers in a trade that was cancelled by George Steinbrenner the very next day), Vaughn came through with a huge season in 1998 (and one of the quietest 50-homer campaigns ever; this was the year McGwire and Sosa launched their assault on Roger Maris' record), helping lead the Pads to their second NL Championship. A big slugger with a quiet demeanor, Vaughn was a favorite among fans and teammates alike before being traded to the Reds following the 1998 season.

Verdict Newfield gave the Brewers two good months, Villone pitched well for someone with his command, and Florie didn't do much of anything. Vaughn suffered through two subpar seasons, then shattered the Padres' team record for home runs in a season, handling himself with grace and dignity through good times and bad. Big advantage Padres.

11/21/96: Traded Dustin Hermanson (P) to Florida for Quilvio Veras (2B).

Quilvio Veras
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO    BA   OBP   SLG
 1997 26 SDP NL 145  539   74  143  23  1   3   45  33 12  72  84  .265  .357  .328
 1998 27 SDP NL 138  517   79  138  24  2   6   45  24  9  84  78  .267  .373  .356
 1999 28 SDP NL 132  475   95  133  25  2   6   41  30 17  65  88  .280  .368  .379

In a hugely unpopular move, Towers dealt former first-round pick Hermanson for a second baseman most folks outside of Miami hadn't heard of, at a time when the Padres already had a solid veteran at the position in Jody Reed. Most Padre players scoffed at the notion that Veras could possibly beat out Reed for the starting job but that he did, and more. Veras provided San Diego with a legitimate leadoff hitter who could get on base and create problems for the opposition once there. In his final season with the Padres, Veras experienced some leg problems which hindered his ability to steal bases and which made his defense, which had been average to slightly above average, a liability. He was dealt to Atlanta following the 1999 season in a package for Klesko.

Hermanson never pitched an inning for the Marlins, so I haven't included his stats. This is a bit disingenous, as he was immediately dealt to Montreal for oft-injured young slugger Cliff Floyd, who has hit 92 homers when healthy in his five seasons with the Marlins. Hermanson, it should be noted, moved to the starting rotation for Felipe Alou's Expos and turned in two outstanding seasons north of the border before settling in as a #3 innings eater.

Verdict Veras was a shrewd pickup for the Padres, but in hindsight, they probably should have traded Hermanson for Floyd themselves if that was an option. Advantage Marlins.

12/09/96: Traded Scott Sanders (P) to Seattle for Sterling Hitchcock (P).

Scott Sanders
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   W   L   G  GS  CG SHO SV    IP     H   ER   HR  BB   SO   ERA
 1997 28 SEA AL   3   6  33   6   0   0  2   65.3   73   47  16   38   62  6.47

Sterling Hitchcock
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   W   L   G  GS  CG SHO SV    IP     H   ER   HR  BB   SO   ERA
 1997 26 SDP NL  10  11  32  28   1   0  0  161.0  172   93  24   55  106  5.20
 1998 27 SDP NL   9   7  39  27   2   1  1  176.3  169   77  29   48  158  3.93
 1999 28 SDP NL  12  14  33  33   1   0  0  205.7  202   94  29   76  194  4.11
 2000 29 SDP NL   1   6  11  11   0   0  0   65.7   69   36  12   26   61  4.93
 2001 30 SDP NL   2   1   3   3   0   0  0   19.0   22    7   1    3   15  3.32

Sanders was coming off a breakthrough season in 1996 and was regarded in some circles as an up-and-comer. I personally thought he had a bright future and couldn't understand why Towers would part with him to get a finesse lefty coming off back-to-back mediocre seasons. But Sanders never could get it going in Seattle, getting hammered in his Mariners debut and ending the season with the Tigers.

Hitchock, meanwhile, followed a poor 1997 with a mediocre 1998 only to become unhittable in the postseason. He continued to improve in 1999 but then started off slowly the next season before blowing out his elbow. Coming back ahead of schedule after Tommy John surgery, Hitch made three solid starts for the Padres in 2001 before being traded to the Yankees, where he originally began his career.

Verdict Sanders never came close to his 1996 performance and proved to be a huge bust. Hitchcock's two seasons of consistency plus one brilliant postseason make this one big advantage Padres.

12/17/96: Traded Willie Blair (P) and Brian Johnson (C) to Detroit for Joey Eischen (P) and Cam Smith (P).

Willie Blair
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   W   L   G  GS  CG SHO SV     IP    H   ER  HR   BB   SO   ERA
 1997 31 DET AL  16   8  29  27   2   0  0  175.0  186   81  18   46   90  4.17

Brian Johnson
 Year Ag Tm  Lg   G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO    BA   OBP   SLG
 1997 29 DET AL  45  139   13   33   6  1   2   18   1  0   5  19  .237  .262  .338

Towers, who had been gaining momentum toward the end of his first full calendar year as Padres' GM, finished 1996 with this trade. Blair, a journeyman righthander (and probably an even better comp to Bottenfield than Bergman was), made the most of his first crack at a big-league starting rotation, winning 16 games for the Tigers before signing as a free agent with the Diamondbacks in 1998. He returned to Detroit the following season but has never recaptured his 1997 form.

Johnson, a fairly generic backup catcher with occasional pop, had a poor season in Detroit after the trade and hasn't done much to distinguish himself since.

Eischen was the key to this deal on the Padres' side, as Towers coveted a power lefty in the bullpen. Unfortunately it never happened, as Eischen was injured before ever appearing in a game. Smith is a career minor-leaguer.

Verdict Blair's terrific season and the fact that neither of the players Towers received ever played for the Pads make this one a no-brainer. Big advantage Tigers.

So, after 14 months on the job, here is Towers' track record so far:

Big Adv Pads: 3
Adv Padres:   1
Toss-Up:      1
Adv Opp:      2
Big Adv Opp:  1

Flaherty, Gomez, Vaughn, and Hitchcock turned out to be pretty key acquisitions for the ballclub, while parting with Blair for essentially nothing is the most significant negative. The inability of youngsters such as Petagine, Nieves, and Newfield to develop, along with the complete implosion of Sanders, made Towers look pretty good come the end of 1997. Next time, we'll see how the young GM did in his second trip around the league.

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