Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers spoke to David Laurila of FanGraphs just before the holidays, and the interview was published today. The long-time executive discussed his upbringing in the game as well as his team-building philosophies while with the Padres and D'Backs. Here are a few other highlights…
- Theo Epstein, who was with the Padres early in his career, first introduced Towers to park effects. He says they played a role in acquiring both Chris Young (fly ball pitcher moving to Petco Park) and Trevor Cahill (ground ball pitcher moving to Chase Field).
- Towers likes a bullpen with different looks, which contributed to the acquisition of Tony Sipp. "Sipp has a little bit of funkiness and deception to his delivery, and historically he’s had very good numbers against left-handed hitters," said the GM.
- The lack of quality middle infielders, both on the current market and also in the draft and internationally, played an important role in the Didi Gregorius pickup. "Sometimes you have to overpay for [up-the-middle players], because of that lack of inventory," said Towers. Both Sipp and Gregorious were acquired earlier this month in the three-team deal with the Reds and Indians.
