SAN DIEGO -- Padres general manager Kevin Towers headed to the Big Easy on Thursday with a peaceful, easy feeling.

Towers and the Padres' traveling party headed to New Orleans for the baseball winter meetings, which begin today. In recent years, he has been under the gun to move contracts and keep payroll down. This year, even with the mandate to build a contender for the National League West title in 2004, Towers has peace of mind.

"We're much more prepared," Towers said. "We're in a completely different mode. Last year, I was trying to move Brett Tomko so I didn't have to non-tender him. I've been in the position where I'm always trying to make any kind of deal just so I didn't lose a player and get nothing back.

"Now, I'm looking to talk to free agents and get a lay of the land. I feel zero pressure."

Last month, Towers and the Padres had a quiet week at the general managers' meetings. But the trip to Phoenix proved fruitful because that's where the groundwork was laid for a three-player trade with the Oakland Athletics, which brought catcher Ramon Hernandez to San Diego.

Towers said a similar scenario could unfold in New Orleans, with the Padres' headlines coming after the meetings.

"We've got several balls in the air," Towers said.

His juggling act includes the following:

• Presuming Kenny Lofton is a lost cause, Towers is mulling whether to make a hefty investment in free-agent center fielder Mike Cameron. The defensive whiz, who was not offered arbitration by the Seattle Mariners, reportedly could get as much as $24 million in a four-year deal with Oakland. Last year, Towers offered a contract of that size to infielder Edgardo Alfonzo, who took $2 million more from the Giants instead.

• Towers opened contract negotiations with the representative of pitcher Adam Eaton on Tuesday. Eaton is eligible for salary arbitration, a process Towers abhors. If he felt he couldn't sign Eaton, he might have put him on the trade block. "The conversation was encouraging," Towers said.

• The Seattle Times reported the Mariners will offer pitcher Freddy Garcia for slugger Phil Nevin. A Padres official said that one won't get off the ground. The Padres will wait until after Dec. 20, the deadline for teams to tender contracts for next season. The Mariners are expected to make Garcia a nontendered free agent if they can't deal him first. The Padres then would try to sign the right-hander on the cheap.

• Towers will watch the Greg Maddux situation closely. The GM intends to wait until late December or early January to make a formal bid for the 289-game winner, who would become the team's ace. Although the Cardinals have a clear interest, Maddux prefers to play closer to his Las Vegas home. The Angels' expenditures on pitchers Bartolo Colon and Kelvim Escobar help the Padres' cause.

• The Padres still hope to clear the salaries of pitcher Kevin Jarvis and outfielder Terrence Long (combined $7,825,000 in 2004). Towers has discussed packaging those two to the New York Mets in exchange for reserve outfielder Roger Cedeno ($5 million). With $44 million already spent on 16 players for 2004, Towers needs more flexibility for his bids for free agents. The Padres plan to keep payroll below $60 million.

Is there any move Towers might make quickly?

"I'd like to add a pitcher for the back end of the rotation," he said.

He would prefer a left-hander in the No. 5 spot, and he will choose from a group that includes free agents Sterling Hitchcock, Chuck Finley, who sat out last season, and right-hander Cory Lidle, .

"We've completed our main objectives," Towers said, "going back to adding Brian Giles to the middle of the lineup (in a late August trade). We've kept our closer (Trevor Hoffman) and Rod Beck and solidified the rest of the bullpen. We've gotten a catcher, which was our No. 1 priority. …

"I think we'll be doing a lot of information gathering in New Orleans. It's nice to be in that situation."