Arizona Diamondbacks’ GM Kevin Towers: ‘We may do a few things’
Jul 31, 2013, 3:46 PM | Updated: 3:49 pm
There was a lot of smoke, but alas no fire.
Rumors flew wildly Tuesday that the Arizona Diamondbacks were interested in acquiring veteran right-handed pitcher Jake Peavy from the Chicago White Sox. Instead, Peavy landed in Boston as part of a three-team deal with that also included the Detroit Tigers.
But just because Arizona didn’t swing that deal, don’t think the D-backs won’t make any roster moves before the trade deadline, which expires at 1:00 p.m. Phoenix time Wednesday.
“I kind of sat back here in the hotel room and worked the phones until late last night,” D-backs’ general manager Kevin Towers told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 620 Wednesday from Tampa. “I’m fairly confident that there will be some trade news involving the Diamondbacks probably by the end of the day.”
Towers hinted that he may be spending a lot of time on the phone before the deadline.
“We may do a few things,” he said. “We’ve made some headway at least on one front. I’d say we’re at the 15-yard line right now, but still have some work to do when I get off this phone.
“And we’ve got a few other things balls up in the air that we’ll continue to work on throughout the rest of the day.”
With their loss to the Rays and the Dodgers’ walk-off win over the Yankees Tuesday night, the Diamondbacks’ deficit in the National League West grew to 3.5 games. But that rapidly growing hole doesn’t mean Towers will be a seller.
“All these moves, or if we do things, they’re with the idea that we still plan on being a contender here and a ball club that we still think has a chance to win the division.”
One of the likely candidates to move is right-handed pitcher Ian Kennedy. The 28-year-old saw his struggles continue Tuesday night when he allowed two earned runs in the first inning and lasted just five innings in a 5-2 loss to the Rays. He hasn’t notched a victory since June 1 and the D-backs are 1-9 in his last 10 starts.
Kennedy is two seasons removed from a 21-win campaign after which he finished fourth in the National League Cy Young voting and is not eligible for free agency until 2016, so despite his 2013 performance, he could be attractive to some suitors around baseball.
