D'Backs Exec VP & GM Kevin Towers "smartly figured out exactly what was needed to make them into a contender" this season after finishing 65-97 last year, and as a result tops SI.com baseball writer Jon Heyman's "list of the 10 best GM jobs this year." Despite keeping the team's payroll at about $60M this season, Towers "still made several subtle personnel improvements, using every method possible, from trades to cost-efficient free-agent signings to even Rule V and the minors.” The result “is a total transformation.” Nobody in baseball "doubted Towers’ pedigree when the respected longtime Padres GM was hired last September, but nearly everyone still envisioned a turnaround being at least a year away." D'Backs President & CEO Derrick Hall said, “He is the architect of an extremely competitive team that has resulted in arguably the most impressive and unthinkable turnaround in our game this season" The following chart represents Heyman's rankings of the best MLB GMs for the '11 season (SI.com, 9/12).
| RANK | GM | TEAM |
| 1 | Kevin Towers | D'Backs |
| 2 | Ruben Amaro | Phillies |
| 3 | Dave Dombrowski | Tigers |
| 4 | Brian Cashman | Yankees |
| 5 | Jon Daniels | Rangers |
| 6 | Doug Melvin | Brewers |
| 7 | Andrew Friedman | Rays |
| 8 | Theo Epstein | Red Sox |
| 9 | Frank Wren | Braves |
| 10 | Alex Anthopoulos | Blue Jays |
| | | |
MONEY MATTERS: Rays Owner Stuart Sternberg said the Rays have "clearly fallen short on our financial projections" for this season. Asked about increasing the Rays' $41M payroll for the '12 season, Sternberg said, "I don't know. ... I could not have projected our attendance would be down what it was. I don’t think anybody would have thought that, either." He added, "Nothing happened positive financially this year.” Sternberg also said that “he doesn’t expect Friedman to go anywhere.” Sternberg: “Andrew is a partner here, he’s a partner of mine. And he treats this organization even better than I possibly can. There’s nothing to report on that.” He added that “no team has requested permission to talk to Friedman” (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 9/13).
