Josh Towers has pretty much proven to be less than useful in the AL East. However, his peripheral stats aren’t too shabby and most speculate a move to the easier league would turn him into a solid #4 starter. J.P. Ricciardi knows this, and is likely to offer arbitration to Towers.
Towers is due for a bump from the $2.9MM he made in ’07. I’ll guess he’ll land in the $3.5-4MM range. Ricciardi is paying lip service to the idea of keeping Towers around, but he’ll surely explore the trade market for him. He might be disappointed – no one thought highly enough of Towers to claim him on waivers last August. Maybe that was related to his criticism of the Jays’ coaching staff a few weeks earlier.
Nonetheless, the Rockies, Padres, and Phillies have all expressed interest in Towers in the past. Those three clubs are still hunting for pitching.
