SAN DIEGO, June 30, 2006 (AP) — The Padres hired Paul DePodesta as special assistant for baseball operations on Friday, giving them five former general managers on their payroll.

DePodesta was fired by the NL West rival Dodgers on Oct. 29, a month after they finished a 91-loss season.

He will report to CEO Sandy Alderson and work with the entire baseball operations department, including general manager Kevin Towers.

Alderson formerly was GM and president of the Athletics before working in the commissioner’s office. The other ex-GMs with the Padres are Randy Smith, former Padres and Tigers general manager who is director of professional and international scouting; and Ed Wade (Phillies) and Ted Simmons (Pirates), who are scouts.

“I don’t think you can ever have enough experience,” Towers said of DePodesta, who was hired by Alderson. “He’s certainly knowledgeable about the NL West, having worked for our rival up north, and he knows their system very well. If this guy can be an asset and make us better, I’m all for it.”

Towers, who succeeded Smith as San Diego’s GM in November 1995, is under contract through 2007. The Padres have made it to the playoffs three times in his tenure, including last year, when they struggled to win the NL West before being swept in the playoffs by the Cardinals. San Diego reached the World Series in 1998 before being swept by the Yankees.

Alderson said Towers doesn’t need to look over his shoulder, although it’s generally believed that if Towers were to be fired or not have his contract renewed, that Grady Fuson, the vice president of scouting and player development, would be promoted. Fuson worked for Oakland during Alderson’s tenure there.

Alderson shot down any theories that DePodesta would be a threat to Towers, saying facetiously, “Yeah, just like I was a threat to Towers. And here we are a year and a few months later, and that hasn’t proven to be the case. Paul would not have come here if it hadn’t been clear to him, and to me as well, that there is an independent, sustainable position for him here in this organization. It doesn’t go to the issue of who’s here and who’s not here.”

DePodesta was hired by the Dodgers in 2004 and won the NL West title in his first season, but riled fans by trading popular catcher Paul Lo Duca and two other players at midseason.

DePodesta, whose wife Karen is from San Diego, said on a conference call that he has mostly spent time with his family since being fired by the Dodgers.

“Both professionally and personally, it just made a lot of sense,” he said of his new job.

“Sandy and I were both adamant that we create a role that integrates famously with the operation as it stood now and could continue to function that way for a long time going forward,” he said.

Before joining the Dodgers, DePodesta had been an assistant to Billy Beane, who succeeded Alderson as Oakland’s GM.

Beane, under tight payroll restrictions, led the revolutionary change in player evaluation that valued statistics over gut instincts. Author Michael Lewis wrote the 2003 best seller “Moneyball” about Beane’s approach to the game, which was adapted by DePodesta in Los Angeles.

Asked if the book’s depiction of him being on his computer all the time was accurate, DePodesta said: “Believe it or not, I’m actually going to make it through this phone call without using my laptop.”

“Quite frankly, not really,” he added. “I really try to take the approach where you try to get as much information as you can that’s relevant before making a decision. Certainly the analytics that got an awful lot of play in “Moneyball” and has gotten a lot of play over the course of the last couple of years certainly is an element of that, but there are a lot of other elements to decision-making as well.”

Alderson said DePodesta’s duties will range from working with the minor league system to perhaps being involved in owner John Moores’ interest in developing baseball in China.

“The job description is very flexible,” Alderson said. “Paul’s known for his computer analysis, but believe me, his capabilities go beyond that.”