If by chance you're not that warmed up by the thought of Tampa versus Philly in the World Series, you may wish to avert your eyes in the direction of the hot stove. This year’s trade season has been kicked off with a bang as Padres general manager Kevin Towers has made clear he's fielding offers for the 2007 Cy Young Award Winner Jake Peavy.
Ken Rosenthal does us the favor of handicapping the likely participants. And the teams with both interest and resources to get a deal done are: Braves, Angels, Yanks, Mets, Red Sox, Cubs, Astros, Dodgers, Cardinals, Brewers, Rays, Rangers.
Padre front office executive, money ball man Paul Depodesta explained on his blog why the team is exploring trading their best player, and the bottom line for any trade is: They must get better.
If this was the only factor, both new York teams might have a chance. The Yankees still have the young pitching they decided to keep in lieu of going after Johan Santana. The Mets have blue-chip prospect Fernando Martinez, along with an assortment of other farmhands that could add up to a tempting proposal.
Unfortunately, they have issues not in their favor.
For one, Jake apparently prefers a more laid-back small town atmosphere. Teams like the Braves, Astros and Cardinals top his wish-list.
Strike one for New York.
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For two, Jake doesn’t want to go to the AL because he likes to hit, run the bases, and presumably strike out opposing pitchers a few times per game.
The Mets hang in there, but that’s strike two for the Yankees.
Finally, Peavy has gone on record saying he gave the Padres a discount on his current four-year contract, but not any other team. And his agent has made it clear any deal that gets worked out will likely include further compensation. So you’re talking about paying prospects on top of big dollars. Which was the same situation that limited the market for Johan Santana.
Considering other teams will have to pay less either to convince Jake or the Padres, you might as well call strike three (looking) on both New York teams.
