Former Padres and D-backs general manager Kevin Towers has died after a battle with cancer. He was 56.Towers held the position of special assistant to the GM/player personnel for the Reds at the time of his death.Born on Nov. 11, 1961, in Medford, Ore., Towers was drafted by the Padres in 1982 and pitched for the organization through 1989. Injuries derailed his playing career in Triple-A, but he was then hired as a scout for San Diego in 1990. 
Towers was the Padres' scouting director in 1994-95 and was promoted to general manager in 1995, a role he held until October 2009. He was 33 when he was named GM, one of the youngest to attain such a position.He succeeded Jerry Dipoto as GM of the D-backs beginning in 2011 and last worked for the club in 2014.Towers helped complete trades that landed the Padres Greg Vaughn, Kevin Brown, Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell, among others. His signing of free-agent closer J.J. Putz during his first months as D-backs GM in 2010 helped turn the team around, as Putz registered a career-high 43 saves and Arizona rebounded from 65 wins in 2010 to 94 in '11.In between his time with the Padres and D-backs, Towers worked for Yankees GM Brian Cashman as a West Coast scout.Oliver Macklin /MLB.com
Towers was the Padres' scouting director in 1994-95 and was promoted to general manager in 1995, a role he held until October 2009. He was 33 when he was named GM, one of the youngest to attain such a position.He succeeded Jerry Dipoto as GM of the D-backs beginning in 2011 and last worked for the club in 2014.Towers helped complete trades that landed the Padres Greg Vaughn, Kevin Brown, Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell, among others. His signing of free-agent closer J.J. Putz during his first months as D-backs GM in 2010 helped turn the team around, as Putz registered a career-high 43 saves and Arizona rebounded from 65 wins in 2010 to 94 in '11.In between his time with the Padres and D-backs, Towers worked for Yankees GM Brian Cashman as a West Coast scout.Oliver Macklin /MLB.com
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