If I'm Theo, I tell Towers to f*** himself at any mention of Buchholz. I'd much rather swap out Buchholz for Bowden, and add two additional prospects in the deal for Gonzalez. If that gets it done, fantastic. If it doesn't, we'll live. Clay is going to be a damn good pitcher, and IMO should be off-limits unless the return package brings a damn good pitcher (Halladay).
Buchholz/Anderson/Reddick/Expo = overpaying
Anderson/Bowden/Reddick/Kalish/another, lesser SP not named Buchholz (or another position player of equal value) = still pricey, but more favorable
I think a lot of these posts suggesting we put our entire system on the table and tell San Diego to pick whoever and however many they want are just the product of annual 'this is the year and we're letting it slip away' delusion in RSN. Along with the whole sputtering offense thing. Is the offense really bad enough, WHEN IT ISN'T IN SCUFFLE MODE, to where we need to let Towers beat us like a farm animal just to salvage it for this season?