Towers waiting to hear back on potential deals

CINCINNATI -- With the clock ticking towards Thursday's 1 p.m. MT non-waiver Trade Deadline, D-backs general manager Kevin Towers is waiting to hear back from some teams on potential deals.

"It's kind of in the other ballclub's court right now," Towers said just before the start of the D-backs' game with the Reds on Wednesday afternoon. "I think we all know there's a couple of potential deals out there that we've told clubs that to move this particular player, this is what we'd do. If they meet that, we do something. If not, we don't."

Arizona's brass took a copy of the team's 40-man roster and put stars next to the names of players it feels are building blocks going forward and therefore not people they would want to give up. They also ranked the prospects in the Minor League system to see where areas of depth might be.

"Starting pitching is probably No. 1 not only for our big league club, but for our system," Towers said of his team's needs. "And probably catching and then probably the outfield. So our focus in any trade discussion is probably in those three areas."

The D-backs do have lots of depth in the infield, with Martin Prado and Aaron Hill among the veterans who have seen their names pop up in trade rumors.

"In the right deal, maybe," Towers said of dealing from his depth. "But I think when you look at our middle infielders, I really don't want to part with any of them, especially our young guys."

Towers said the trade market has been quieter than what he expected given the parity in baseball, but that of course could change in the hours ahead.

"We don't like to be in this position," Towers said. "The last three years we've been in buy mode and this year they're asking us about our big league players, not our prospects. It's not a position we want to be in, but this is an opportunity to hopefully make us better in the future if we end up doing something."