Jake Peavy Rumors: Tuesday

This is great news for Braves fans. Sounds like this may get done within a week.

I don't know that he's caving, so much as he is staying with what he's put on the table the entire time with the possible exception of Locke.

I think it will be HORRIBLE to lose a talent like Escobar... any of you ever watch a braves game? Ever watch this kid play? Ever watch him in the field??

I WISH upon a star that the Braves tried trading KJ instead of Yunel...Cuz now who's gonna play short? Lillibridge? Prado? Infante?? - come on, none of these guys have half the talent Escobar does! I know Pitching is what we need, and Peavy is on top of his game right now, but wouldn't it make sense to maybe try and deal KJ for pitching (be it with the Pad's or someone else looking for a 2B), or to go after FA starters and keep Esco locked up as a Bravo for years to come???

Just my 2 cents

Did I miss something? Neither of those articles say that Vitters is involved?

Brves will sign a FA SS or make a trade. I highly doubt anyone on the current roster will be the opening day SS. I say spend the money on Furcal. We need a leadoff hitter badly.

Dave look in Buster's article 4th paragraph

I didn't say he was caving. I said he will cave. :)

Braves need this deal much more than Chicago. I think in the end, Wren gives Towers a bit more of what he wants (not Flowers though) because this deal makes the Braves relevant in the NL East again and a contender with a frontline pitcher and solid offense.

a roation with peavy then hudson? wow! they would not have a losing streak longer then 5

or none of the above.

Okay explain the logic behind giving up Escobar given the Braves' stated plans of adding 2 frontline starters and a power-hitting LF with about $40-45 million to spend?

Giving up Escobar creates a need for a SS, and most think that need will have to be filled on the FA market. Well, whoever the Braves sign will surely cost more than Escobar, only cutting into the available $45 million.

Peavy's going to cost $16 million off the top, leaving about $30 million. Another starter is going to cost (conservatively $13-14 million for a Lowe or Dempster)...that leaves about $16 million. That would be plenty if you only had to fill the need of a LF (and then raises to arbitration cases and retaining Smoltz, Glavine, Hampton, etc.). Instead that 16 million needs to be split between a LF and SS. Furcal is likely going to see at least, what, $12 mil per?

This is negative cost decision for the Braves.

I think we'll take a look at Renty again if Escobar does go.

this is highway robbery by Wren. What is Towers thinking? And why would Towers not take an offer starting with Vitters and moving from there. to me Escobar is over-rated. He's the 4th best shortstop in this divsion by a wide margin.

Oh and as a Phils fan, still not worried.

at first, i was against letting escobar go, but after thinking about it, maybe they see something in him that they don't like. he did seem to be injury prone and he is still immature and has an attitude. i don't think he speaks english either. that's not ideal. as long as they aquire a good ss, i will still be ecstatic to get peavy. i'm hoping that they use the money they're saving on peavy's market-friendly contract on furcal. they need a lead off hitter. hell, they've needed a lead off hitter since he left.

one thing i'm worried about is the mentioning of the braves not wanting to trade both kj and escobar. as i understand it, if kj was traded, prado would be the starting 2b. if they trade escobar, it's assumed that they'll acquire another ss. so why is it that they don't want to trade them both? what's wrong with prado at 2nd and a new ss? makes me wonder if they're going to plug in someone from within at ss. i hope not.

The Cubs will need to involve a 3rd team because they don't have the prospects do get it done directly?

Wait, so Felix "My defense in Petco will be incredible!" Pie, Ronny "I'm nothing special but maybe I'll be slightly above-average" Cedeno, and Sean "Lefty with a pulse" Marshall weren't enough to get it done???

I...I just don't know what to say. I thought those 3 would *easily* fetch one of the better pitchers in baseball. I mean, Pie's so fast...

Peavy's contract for people that don't know it.

2009 - $11 million
2010 - $15 million
2011 - $16 million
2012 - $17 million
2013 - Club option at $22 million.

airman, im sure in the end locke or another pitcher will be in there but you do get esco and gorkys so thats a decent haul

a few years back i actually thought they were going in the right direction but like everytime they just pulled the wool over our eyes shame on us. SD shouldnt of let epstein walk but thank god they did.

J. Peavy to yanks 09

z

I love Olney's "rumorspeak" when talking about Vitters: "The Cubs and Padres have talked about a deal built around Josh Vitters, the Cubs' top pick from 2007."

Well, I'm sure they've talked, but that doesn't mean an offer has been made. (not saying it hasn't been, just that this is pretty vague language).

I do think that if a deal isn't done by Friday, all bets are off. Not to say the Braves would refuse to negotiate after that, but that any offer on the table probably gets pulled once the F/A market opens up.

no.. the agent discussed that.. but nothing was official.. i think it was reported that the braves got together with his agent and discussed replacement options for him

Personally, I think that if the Padres can land Vitters, they should probably go for it. They really need a superstar hitter, and Vitters has that kind of talent. The Padres probably won't be contending until Vitters arrives in the majors anyways (Cha Seung Baek as your 2 starter just screams last place..).

People say, but, but the Padres already have Kouz and Headley. Yes, that's a good point, but Kouzmanoff isn't likely to stay around all that much longer, and his OBP is poor anyways. Either Headley or Vitters could easily play left field if the other is at third, because both have the plus bats to man the position.

I just think that the Pads would be better off taking the upside of a Vitters/Pie/Marshall/Cedeno offer, rather than Escobar/Hernandez/Morton/Prospect. Marshall and Morton has similar upsides, but Marshall has nearly reached his and isn't all that much older. Pie and Hernandez are similar in that they're both toolsy CF, but Pie is more MLB-ready. Hernandez is the better prospect, but Pie has a similar ceiling and should at least be ready to man Petco defensively.

I'd just be worried as a Padres fan that they won't be able to contend until Yunel is hitting his 30th birthday, while Vitters is having his coming out party at age 23.

The gamesmanship here has been fascinating (while being damn frustrating if you're a Braves fan).

I wonder if the holdup really is over Jeff Locke, who pitched in Class A this year and is at least two years from the majors.

I wonder if instead Wren is trying to pull back Yunel and offer another everyday player (Lillibridge or Prado or Anderson) and instead of Locke, a pitching prospect who could pitch in the majors in 2009.

If Towers has to move Peavy, he'd be nuts to reject Escobar, Hernandez, Morton and Locke, especially when the Cubs are offering a lesser package of players who won't be under team control as long as the ones in play from the Braves.

And I agree with those saying that if the deal's not done by Friday, the Braves will either lessen the offer or move on.

The Cubs need to sacrifice to win now, So, Vitters would be giving up a potential star, but would be worth it IMHO.

I'm surprised that Towers wouldn't like Vitters, Pie, Ceda and Marshall(if that is similar to what is on the table) more than what the Braves are offering. Morton and Reyes haven't shown they can be successful at the major league level and Marshall has, but it may be a years of service issue with Marshall, in which case the Cubs are involving a third team to get a younger prospect.

I agree with aduncaroo. Josh Vitters is the one blue chip prospect left in the cubs farm system therefore we shouldnt give him up. Peavy would look great in a cubbies uniform but he is more of a luxury as the Cubs SP is their strength, especially if they resign Dempster. That being said we should probably focus our attention on resigning Wood then gettin Furcal. Theriot/Fontentot would play second and Dero in RF.

Interesting little fact ........ Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus published his Braves top 11 prospects. Locke wasn't included on the list and was behind Hanson, Teheran, Rohrbough and Medlen. Which isn't to say that he's not a good prospect but does seem to indicate a rather deep system.

the padres actually asked for that switch as it was reported they weren't interested in schafer

thanks jwn0303, didn't catch that one... but still, im looking at gorkys a+ stats .264, 20sb (i thought the pads fo didn't like speed?) and a monstrous .317 BABIP - a sign that he was lucky to hit 264. i just don't understand the interest in gorkys, i guess that's why im not the GM

"and a monstrous .317 BABIP"

.317 isn't very monstorous...that definitely a number he could hit again. Its a little above average, but far from unheard of for a fast player.

Gorkys struggled with a hamstring injury in '08. Missed some time, and was slowed by it most of the year.

Aduncaroo - good point, speed probably picked up some infield hits for him. still, the padres repeatedly have said that they do not put speed high on their priority list when shopping for a player.

gorkys strikes out a lot, and walks a bit, so he'll probably fit in nicely on the padres.

People who say Morton hasn't proved he can't pitch at the big league level, have never looked at his stats. He has shown a lot of promise. As for Jo-Jo, at times he is magical out there, and at other times, he looks like Rick Ankiel before he became an outfielder.

I have said this before. I dont mind trading Vitters if they give us Greene as well. So we can flip him to Baltimore for Roberts.

uww1 - maybe you could throw in vitters to get greene, then use some other prospect+greene to get roberts... wait...

hmm.. Kyle Davies was not a lefty just so you know.

I've always wanted to call him a lefty, for some reason... thanks for the correction.

I would rather have Cubs deal than the Braves deal ... but if the Cubs include Vitters than maybe the Braves move to include a Tommy Hanson to get it done

I didn't say he wasn't comparable, so you can actually read what I put before you call me ignorant. I just simply stated he was not left handed.

I agree that Reyes has the stuff to be a good big league starter, I am just making a point that Petco alone is not going to make him a better starter.

Vitters and Heyward are comparable then if the Pads get Vitters they could swap him for pitching prospects as good as Hanson.... that is why the cubs deal is better if Vitters and only if Vitters is included

"Locke is left handed, something we lack in our system utterly."

Can't say I agree with that analysis. Leblanc, Garrison, and Nick Schmidt are three of the better pitching prospect the Padres have. The Padres lack top of the rotation talent.

jwn0303- Morton show promise he has a career ERA 4.53 in the minor league.

Cedric Hunter is better than Hernandez. They both played CF in High A. Hunter has a higher avg more power and he is a year younger.

Ok, you're basing a kids promise on ERA. Good call there. And someone has already stated what help Gorkys back this season. Again, look at his first half stats. He was hitting around .320-.330 before the hamstring started acting up.

held.. not help***

I think you guys still put too much stock in numbers. Go out and get an account at BA or BP or even Scout.com to read what the pros say about these players.

I mean you have to put a certain amount of stock in a kids number. But that shouldn't be the only thing you look at. You have to look at the intangibles and the peripherals. You have to look at the whole package.

damnit, off my game today. numbers** not number

The big league team is still a part of the system, and Schmidt had Tommy John over a year ago and has already rehabbed. I agree with the Rohrbough over Locke idea. From what I have read he has better stuff and is more likely to turn into a top of the rotation starter.

Cedric Hunter is at this point a better hitter than Gorkys but it has always been questionable if he was going to be able to stay in center as a defender. The bat he currently displays is probably not even average for right or left field. He looks like a prototypical CF guy but he isn't particularly speedy and has an average arm from everything i have heard.

Airman,
Schmidt had surgery almost a year ago and is currently throwing at the Padres facility in AZ. That is a long way from full recovery but saying he just had surgery is false.

So why are the Padres so persistent in looking for a center fielder? Do they not think this kid can handle it defensively? Which is where Gorkys shines with his speed?

Hunter, according to reports has the speed to play center, but takes bad routes. His arm is also borderline in CF. Hernandez is a lock to stick in CF, that is of course if he is able to progress to the big leagues.