OPINION

By Gerry Fraley

updated 9:20 p.m. ET Nov. 17, 2008

San Diego general manager Kevin Towers has the worst job in baseball.

He must preside over the second dismantling of the franchise in 15 years.

Towers arrived about two years after former owner Tom Werner ordered a fire sale in 1993. Towers showed his considerable skills by turning around a bad situation in a hurry. The Padres reached the playoffs in 1996 and the World Series in 1998.

Now comes another storm. This one makes the Werner era look like a day at a San Diego beach.

The national economy stinks, and the Padres were not much better this season. Current owner John Moores is in the midst of a traumatic and potentially costly divorce. Moores could end up selling up to 49 percent of the club.

There is only one response in the situation.

Slash the payroll.

The Padres finished last in the National League West this season with a payroll of $73.6 million. They likely will finish last against next season, with a payroll of about $35 million.

A much lower payroll makes it easier for Moores to find needed buyers for a piece of the team. It also makes it easier for Moores to sell the team, if it comes to that point.

A lower payroll also makes it easier for Moores to keep the team and reap a profit, a popular theory among conspiracy buffs.

The Padres moved into Petco Park, built with public funds, in 2004, and it keeps spewing revenue. Despite putting a terrible product on the field, the Padres drew 2.4 million customers this season.

The onus for cutting the payroll falls upon Towers. The only way for him to get to the lower number is dumping icons.

That led to the recent clumsy handling of closer Trevor Hoffman, the all-time saves leader.

The Padres pulled off the table the offer of a one-year contract for Hoffman, which is their right. The club did not rule out trying again to re-sign Hoffman, a free agent.

The problem was the club went silent after the decision, forcing Towers into the uncomfortable position of throwing out ``no comments'' when asked to explain what had happened. Hoffman deserved better treatment.

At the same time, Towers is trying to trade ace righthander Jake Peavy, who will earn a minimum of $63 million over the next five seasons. What seems like an easier task is actually a test.

With no-trade protection in his contract, Peavy can shape his future. Peavy and his agent, Barry Axelrod, started by giving the Padres a list of five clubs to which he would be agreeable to a deal: Atlanta, the Chicago Cubs, Houston, the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis.

Towers is left trying to deal from a position of weakness. Potential trading partners recognize that he must unload Peavy. As much as everyone in the game likes Towers, no one will give him a break here. It's that kind of business.

The five clubs on Peavy's list have been shrewd enough not to bid against each other and inflate the market. Towers would like to draw the New York Yankees into the equation, a sure-fire way to raise the price, but Peavy is uncomfortable in the biggest-city environment.

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For now, Towers plays a waiting game.

``As of right now, there hasn't been a deal that's been presented to us that we could accept,'' Towers told reporters. ``The next thing is (for) Barry to sit down with Jake and say `Doesn't look like anything's happening with L.A. Nothing's more than likely happening with the Chicago Cubs and as of now not with the (Braves). As of now, you're probably going to remain a Padre.' ''

The Padres' hope is that Peavy will accept playing for what will be a terrible team next season and expand the group of teams to which he would accept a trade.

The Padres' fear is Peavy will remain and either gobble up most of the payroll next season or force the club to trade him for the equivalent of pennies on the dollar.

That tells the magnitude of San Diego's plight. The Padres have a Cy Young winner to deal, and it brings nothing but headaches. If Kevin Towers makes something out of this mess, imposed from above, it will be remarkable.

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