Alderson says he doesn't expect regime change; Padres CEO hints that Towers, Bochy to return

By: BRIAN HIRO - Staff Writer | Tuesday, October 10, 2006 12:16 AM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO -- Defusing speculation of a possible housecleaning in the wake of the Padres' unexpectedly early playoff exit, club CEO Sandy Alderson hinted that both general manager Kevin Towers and manager Bruce Bochy will return next season.

"Kevin did an outstanding job this year, and Bruce did a solid job as well," Alderson said Monday. "They're both under contract, and I think the presumption has to be that they'll be back. But those are issues that will be addressed over the next two or three weeks."

Towers and Bochy are both signed to seven-figure contracts through 2007. Towers, who has held his post since the 1996 season, put together the team that won the Padres' second consecutive National League West title, marking the first time in franchise history the Padres have gone to the playoffs in back-to-back years.

The Padres' manager since '95, Bochy guided the club to an 88-74 record for his third winning season in a row, another franchise first. Media reports have linked him to managerial openings with the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants.

The league's hottest team entering the playoffs after a 22-9 run to close the regular season, the Padres were favored to oust the St. Louis Cardinals, who limped in with nine losses in their last 12 games. But the Padres quickly yielded home-field advantage in the NL Division Series by dropping the first two games at Petco Park and, after bouncing back to win Saturday in St. Louis, saw their season end with a 6-2 loss in Game 4 on Sunday night.

"It was a great regular season," Alderson said. "We played exceptionally well in September. It was exciting for the team as well as our fans. But right now the fresh impression and the last impression is the postseason, and obviously that wasn't positive."

Alderson joined the chorus in finding fault with the Padres' offense, which ranked 13th in the league in runs but was even worse in the playoffs. The Padres scored only six runs in four games while batting .225, including .063 (2-for-32) with runners in scoring position.

"I think it underscores and confirms what we already knew was a weakness that had to be addressed," Alderson said. "It was only because of our outstanding pitching (league-best 3.87 ERA) that we had any sort of positive run differentials in the regular season. We have to figure out a way to keep the pitching where it is and improve the offense. If we can score some more runs, we'll be very formidable next season."

Alderson said the club will conduct a "general search for power" after consecutive seasons in which no Padre hit more home runs than the 24 by first baseman Adrian Gonzalez this year. The Padres are known to be interested in Texas left fielder Carlos Lee, a pending free agent who hit .300 with 37 homers and 116 RBIs for the Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers in 2006 and has averaged 33 homers over the past four seasons.

The Padres' desire for greater slugging means that they are unlikely to try to re-sign left fielder Dave Roberts, a solid leadoff hitter who stole a career-high 49 bases but had only two homers and a .393 slugging percentage.

While the Padres are happy with three-quarters of their starting infield ---- Gonzalez, second baseman Josh Barfield and shortstop Khalil Greene (all 26 or younger) ---- Alderson called the third-base position "troublesome." One option that might be explored is a trade for Seattle's underperfoming Adrian Beltre, the runner-up for the 2004 NL MVP with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Or the Padres could exercise the contract option of Russell Branyan and platoon him with a free agent like Craig Counsell, a scrappy veteran valued by Towers.

To plug a hole in the rotation left by the expected retirement of David Wells and the free-agent departure of Woody Williams, the Padres could make a run at Houston's Andy Pettitte. Like Wells, Pettitte is a veteran left-hander who made his name with the New York Yankees.

The Padres are surely interested in Oakland lefty Barry Zito, a San Diego native and the prize of the free-agent class. But Zito, who's represented by Scott Boras, will likely command a deal beyond the Padres' means.

The Padres, however, will have more money than usual to play with after the salaries of Ryan Klesko, Chan Ho Park and Williams (who made a combined $25 million this season) come off the books.

"It gives us some options," Alderson said. "But I think that the free-agent market could be crazy this year because there are more than a few teams that are coming off big contracts. On the one hand, it's nice to have the resources. On the other, we still have to use them wisely. I really believe that good management trumps big payrolls."

-- Contact staff writer Brian Hiro at b_hiro@hotmail.com.