Obsessive Bradley Trade Watch: Exit the Padres?

Last week, San Diego Padres General Manager Kevin Towers said that they had enjoyed having Milton Bradley on their team, and all but said that if he’s traded, they’d be happy to take him back.

All of Cubs fandom was aglow with happiness, relief, and delight.

And then this weekend, Kevin Towers got the boot as the Padres’ GM.

“The organization is indebted to Kevin for not only the 14 years he served as general manager, but for the fact that the club is well-positioned to go forward into the future,” Moorad told the Union-Tribune in an exclusive interview before Friday night’s game at Petco Park. “I think we need to build a better baseball operations department, better skilled at the areas we’re committed to going forward.

“I admire (Towers’) skills very much and respect his relationships that exist around the game. But I think over the next period of time, our focus is on more of a strategic approach to drafting and development that has a chance to compete in the division year-in and year-out.”

Three weeks ago, in a conversation Moorad described as “emotional,” the Padres’ chief executive officer informed Towers that the club had decided to explore other options but had not yet reached a definitive decision about the future of its front office. SignOnSanDiego.com.

Replacing the GM does not, of course, necessarily mean the Padres are out as a possible destination for Bradley. But it takes out a guy who wanted Bradley and replaces him with an unknown. Bummer.

That said… um, note the strange statement that Towers was told three weeks ago that he wasn’t going to be back as the GM next year. And yet, just last week, he was out in the media making statements about the direction of the club and upcoming player personnel moves. Either the conversation Moorad and Towers had was a bit obtuse, or Towers just can’t help himself when it comes to jawing to the media.

Given his behavior this past offseason with respect to moving Jake Peavy, I’m guessing it’s the latter. So maybe the Padres were never a possible destination to begin with.