D-backs GM at odds with Bradley’s agent over top prospect’s future

Arizona Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers and the agent for the team’s top prospect apparently have very different ideas about what is in Archie Bradley’s best interest.

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Towers is hesitant to bring Bradley into a situation where he’d be viewed as the D-backs’ savior. But Bradley’s agent, Jay Franklin, told Rosenthal that that’s the kind of situation the pitching phenom thrives in.

“I would not bring him up in this environment the way we’re playing,” Towers said. “I know how it would be perceived if he came up: ‘Archie is going to save us.’ I don’t want to do that to a 21-year-old kid.

“If it gets to the point where we straighten this thing out and it’s a more positive environment here and he’s throwing the ball well, we’ll do it regardless of the clock.”

To which Franklin replied: “Trust me, Archie thrives in that position. I’ve known him since he was 15 years old. He loves pressure.”

The 21-year-old right-hander has a 1.50 ERA in his two starts for Triple-A Reno while the D-backs entered Monday with an MLB-worst 4-11 record and 7.18 ERA from their starting rotation.

Bradley was the D-backs’ first-round pick in the 2011 draft out of Oklahoma’s Broken Arrow High School. He got off to a blistering start in spring training before fading in his final three outings, and his call-up could also be delayed by the fact that the team will lose a year of team control if he is promoted before late April.

Added Franklin:

“I think it’s very apparent what is going on in Arizona,” he told Fox Sports on Monday. “Every ballplayer that is playing minor league baseball works his tail off to get an opportunity to play in the big leagues.

“Archie Bradley has proven to the Diamondbacks organization that he has deserved that opportunity by keeping his mouth shut and letting his numbers speak for his chance to pitch in the major leagues.”

But Towers told Rosenthal that Bradley’s pitching is the only reason he’s not with the D-backs.

“In spring training, if he had continued to deal, we would have started (the season) with him,” Towers told Rosenthal. “His fastball command was not there in spring training. He’ll even admit that.

“Things are not going great with our starting pitching,” Towers continued. “When the environment is better and he might help us win ballgames, we’ll bring him up.”

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