Towers Snags Sanchez

Much of the Padres' potential for success in 2009 relies not only relies on club veterans improving on their 2008 performance, but also on their General Manager doing the same. Kevin Towers has his moments. Many folks think of him fleecing other teams in horribly lopsided deals (most recently, Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young in exchange for Akinori Otsuka). We at FF think that Towers' prime skill has been building stellar bullpens out of thin air (2008 was a notable exception). To that end, the whole of Friar nation hopes that KT has his mojo back, particularly in light of his most recent acquisition, Duaner Sanchez. Many Padre fans are familiar with Sanchez, who spent the 2004 and 2005 seasons with the hated Los Angeles Dodgers. Padres.com reports that his most recent past-employer, the New York Mets, apparently had concerns over his declining velocity, leading to his release and the Padres acquisition. Sanchez had his best season in 2007, when he posted a 2.60 ERA in 49 contests. Of special note to Padreball watchers, Sanchez has maintained a near-constant K/BB ratio of a little under 2-1 (not exactly the type of high ratio Towers typically covets in his pen).