Jake Peavy Rumors: Monday

I'm glad the Cubs aren't giving in. If the Braves really wanted him, he would be a Brave by now. They are staying away, for some reason. The Cubs should hold their ground. Clearly the market is smaller than the Padres thought, and at this point, they have to move him, after all the comments. If you move Marshall and/or Fontenot, how many wins would Peavy actually give you? Fontenot was huge this year. And Marshall is key to the pen and as a swingman.

If you have to move Marshall and Fontenot to get Peavy...why wouldn't you? Honestly, if there is ANY way to get Peavy and not include Vitters...(Pie to the O's for Pitching)...you do it. It doesn't seem like a huge return...but for some reason the Pads apparently want established players, rather than just prospects.

As of this moment the Braves are not going to get Peavy. I say that because they pulled out of the talks leaving an offer on the table. They are not going to up their offer and the whole reaosn for this third team is so that the Cubs offer is better, ACCORDING TO THE GMS, than the Braves offer. Yes, the original Cubs offer not involving a third team for the Cubs was not as good as the Braves's, but now that there is a third team, KT might be considering the Cubs offer along with Olson to be more valuable than the one with the Braves. I guess theres more upside or at least KT thinks so.

Also, on a side note, there were 2 things that I was thinking about that no one has mentioned yet with this whole speculation that the Orioles are the third team is that everyone always said that the reason for the third team would be to flip them Vitters and get the SP that towers wants. But the whole rumor now is that the Orioles are mainly interested in Pie. Now, maybe it is supposed to be a given that its going to be Pie AND Vitters, but I have not seen anywhere that this is being said. Also, I have not seen anywhere, besides blogger comments, that Vitters would be flipped to the Padres in the whole package. Secondly, the KT wants a CF to hold over until their guy is ready. Has anyone considered that if the Cubs do trade Pie to the Orioles for Olson, that the CF going to the Padres might be Sam Fuld? I mean, there was a ton of hype about him in Cubdom a couple years ago, not so much last year, but he might be the temporary solution for the Padres in CF.

The Angels are going to swoop in and trade for him as soon as they decide who they are going to sign (Between Texiera and Sabathia).

Fuld's worth is about as much as my shoe in this trade.

I am wondering if Towers now would like to keep Vitters for himself along with Marshall and Fontenot/Cedeno, and get Olson from the O's in exchange for the Cubs getting Pie.

Can they just the guy already? Damn. Samething every day.

Yea, I know that a lot think that Fuld is just nothing. But who knows what Towers thinks of him. Also, there is NO WAY Hendry is going to let Fontenot and/or Marshall not let this get done. There is no GM in baseball that would value Fontenot and/or Marshall more than 4 years of Peavy. (and lol @ BK, I was wondering how long it would be before an Angels or Dodgers fan would come in and propose/make a case for why their team is going to get Peavy)

It would be a coup if the Cubs are able to land Peavy and not have to give up Marshall and Fontenot. Both are lefties and both are needed on the team, Fontenot for his bat and Marshall for his versatility. Funny how those guys can be so valuable to a team that's got the potential to win 100-games, yet when it's time to talk about trading them everyone considers them trash. Fact is they're both relatively young and inexpensive and both are pretty good at what they do. I hope the Cubs keep them and still acquire Peavy.

Any chance the Braves did another review of Peavy's medical records and decided he's too much a risk to offer more talent?

DodgersBruin, with the free agent market unexpectedly slow this year the Peavy to the Cubs rumors are the hottest rumors flying around. I know what you mean about a seeing the Cubs in on Peavy over and over, but this is a rumors site and the Peavy to Cubs rumors are the biggest thing out there right now. Tim would not be doing his job if he did not keep posting the "new' but old rumors about Peavy. That is just the market right now.

Kenny Dewitt

I doubt it MPM, the Padres got an insurance policy with the Peavy deal, meaning if he were to get injured they would get his salary back. And insurance companies dont insure players they know are getting injured. So I doubt there is anything telling in his medical reports, since the insurance medical/physical would be available to them, and he apparently passed.

kevin towers is making heidi montag look like jd salinger

DodgersBruin,
Here is an idea:

When you see a rumor titled "Cubs still in on Peavy", skip it and move on to the next one.

Get a life DodgersBruin. If the topic doesn't interest you, there are many others to choose from.

Maybe I'm mis-reading sharx's post, but if it's a question of one or the other, I'm certain the O's would take Vitters over Pie; it's a no-brainer. It would seem to me that Olson wouldn't be enough to get Vitters and that the Pads would need Vitters AS WELL AS Olson to get Peavy. That said, as an O's fan, I'd certainly welcome a Vitters/Olson trade; Pie/Olson...not so much. I know Pie's talented and it's not like Olson's some future superstar, but I'm simply not a Pie believer anymore. He's still young and I'll readily admit, I could be wrong, but he just seems a little too Cory Patterson for my taste. Prospects in places like Chicago (and New York) sometimes get overrated and in Pie's case, he's also been jerked around by the organization so many times, it HAS to have had some kind of effect on his confidence. In truth, Baltimore would probably be the ideal place for him...since here he could, potentially, get the Nick Markakis/Adam Jones treatment: no pressure, lots of playing time, plenty of patience, blossom on your own timetable. Still, I personally think Olson has excellent potential himself (as, apparently, does Kevin Towers). Sure, he struggled mightily at times during his rookie season, but considering the circumstances and his past performance, I'm optimistic about the future. He's a lefty, for one, on top of which, he's got a pretty nice mix of pitches- particularly the secondaries- and, contrary to what we saw last year, very good command. I could easily see him developing into an above average middle-of-the-rotation guy, as soon as next season. In particular, I think we'll see Olson's command improve now that he's got a year under his belt and shaken some of the nerves that all rookies feel. I think they affected Olson a little more than most, being a very cerebral pitcher; he over-thought everything last year and got away from just...pitching. And he knew it! That will change. Looking at his numbers at every stop over the course of his rise, one might expect some very strong seasons ahead; I'm especially interested in his high K rates, and K/BB ratios, which are somewhat surprising given his lack of a truly dominant- though solid- fastball. While I can't be sure he'll replicate them, I think a fair facsimile could be in the cards, which would make Olson a very valuable piece of the puzzle that is the Orioles' rotation. This promise, is, in my opinion, worth more than whatever potential Pie represents. Furthermore, with Nolan Reimold and his considerable upside within spitting distance of the bigs (to say nothing of the surprisingly impressive Lou Montanez), I don't understand why the Birds would even be in on Pie!!!

Vitters is another issue altogether, as Bill Rowell's progress has stalled and the club lacks any other strong in-house candidates for the third base job. Furthermore, Vitters' upside is much higher than Pie's (or Olson's) at this point. As I said, I don't think that's a viable option, as I'm sure the Cubs (rightfully) consider Vitters' value to be far greater than Olson's (though, in this case...perhaps not; it seems the Pads are more interested in Olson and that is what counts). If it's a possibility, however, the O's would have to jump on it.

Finally, I don't understand why Andy Mac doesn't just cut out the middle man and offer Olson to San Diego for, say Kyle Blanks. The Pads have Gonzalez entrenched at first (at a very reasonable salary, I believe) and just drafted Alan Dykstra, so it wouldn't seem to negatively impact the club and, on paper, it fits needs for both teams. Somebody get these guys talking!

Simple milehigh78, Blanks is our best prospect. And we believe we can find something better then Olsen for him if we decide to trade him. He will only be 22 next year, and in AAA, why trade that this year?

Jake Peavey is the new Brian Roberts.

Kenny, I don't think a team can be a "dark horse" unless it has anything of value to trade. For that reason the Astros aren't an option.

I do agree with the post suggesting the Angels might get involved at some point. Just a hunch though.

Nixa, I think the possible offer of Cedeno/Fontenot, Vitters, Olson and Marshall is a little better than the Braves offer. The way I see it, Cedeno/Fontenot Hernandez, Marshall > Morton, Olson >> Boyer. Obviously Escobar is superior to either Cubs MI, but the pitching in the Cubs deal would be vastly superior to the Braves' offer. Also, that is what is reportedly most important to KT, the pitching.

Maybe if Wren jumps back in and sweetens the offer by adding Locke/Rohrborgh it will change things.

"I would say the Cubs are still in it. Lou said they’re not in it, but their general manager says they’re in it."

I also like to say that I still have a chance at Hayden Pennietere. The restraining order says I don't, but my heart says I do.

Towers is beginning to learn the ugly truth the Twins learned last year. When you have a trade market of one team, you're not going to get what you want for your Ace.

This is all a coy by Towers to try and make the Braves shake a little and get more for Peavy. And the funny thing is the Braves don't care if they do or don't get peavy.

Indifference trumps playing hard to get every time.

Should have read Cedeno/Fontenot Hernandez, Marshall > Morton, Olson >> Boyer....

sharx- thanks. I missed the rumor of a potential Vitters-to-third-team deal. In that case, I think the O's should push hard for Vitters over Pie in any Olson-related trade.

BleacherBuddha- no chance in hell the Twins do that deal.

basicslop- "This is all a coy..." What the hell is a coy?! Did you mean to say it's all a PLOY or perhaps that Towers is PLAYING coy or...? Just curious.

Are you implying the difference between Cedeno/Fontenot and Escobar is comparable to the difference between Olson and Boyer? Boyer has had far more success than Olson at the ML level, albeit as a reliever, and his peripherals outside of his HR rate are great. I'm not trying to argue that Boyer is some huge piece or anything, but neither is Olson, who was never real highly regarded as a prospect and has struggled badly in the majors. Maybe its just me, but his numbers seem a little similar to Chuck James.

Anyways, I find it interesting that you bring up Locke and Rohrbough as guys who could swing the trade to the Braves. I personally think the Braves should consider moving them to get Peavy, but when you compare a Braves offer replacing Boyer with one of those two, the Braves offer is vastly superior to what the Cubs are offering, with Escobar being far, far superior to the Cubs MI, Vitters being better than Hernandez, Marshall being slightly more valuable (service time helps make up the difference) than Morton, and Locke/Rohrbough being better than Olson. Suddenly the pitching is about equal, but the Braves are giving up Escobar and Hernandez as opposed to Cedeno/Fontenot and Vitters. The choice there seems clear unless you're almost certain Vitters will reach his projections.

DB- Here's another idea. Email Tim your suggestions. He's got his email posted on the website somewhere, find it. That way, you can moan to the guy who runs the site and not to the people who are actually participating in the conversation. And I know Tim gets in the threads once in a while, but with every other Peavy thread ending up with hundreds of posts, and Tim's job being to check on all other rumors, I don't think he's going to spend too much time in this one. However, you did succeed in derailing the the thread for a few minutes and making it all about you and your problems, so congrats on that, I guess. And by the way, a team's GM commenting directly about another team involved in trade discussions regarding a high profile player, on his team, I hate to break it to you, but that is news. Maybe not to you, but to interested parties, it is.

"The orioles have no need for Pie,"

Tell that to their GM, who is documented as really liking him.

You may not be interested, but that doesn't mean that they aren't.

Here is the thing guys (mile,nixa etc)

You can't compare the offers because the Cubs offer is pure speculation. All we know is that the O's like Pie. We keep throwing in Fontenot/Cedeno...but thats not even known. Hell, we don't even know if Vitters would be going to the third team, or if Pie would, or if he wouldn't be going anywhere at all!

All we DO know is that Towers isn't all that impressed with the Braves offer. My thought is that it doesn't have the pitching that he wants. If the Cubs offered Olson and Marshall, I think Towers is getting more of what he wants, regardless of if you think a deal with Escobar in it is more intriguing to you.

My guess is this:

Hendry now doesn't really care all that much, but is willing to let it fall in his lap. He says to Towers, "If you can get the last piece to your puzzle using whichever of Pie/Vitters you are willing to give up, then make it happen".

The guys on the table are:

Vitters
Pie
Fontenot/Cedeno
Low level pitching prospect from Cubs

So now Towers will try and flip Pie for a pitcher that he likes from another team (Olson) and it would become a better deal to HIM, because it has much more pitching in it than the Braves offer.

Those are just my thoughts, but very little is actually known about the Cubs actual offer.

Capt TopOff,

Nothing to trade? How about the NL best closer for LESS than $10 mill? Or a power hitting 3B that can also play the outfield? How about a solid left handed starter?

Two other cubs prospects that might be a lesser part of this deal IMHO:

Wellington Castillo
Jay Jackson (I think he might have to be a PTBNL)

I'm with DodgersBruin on this. I understand there is a HEAVY amount of Cub love on this site, but does that mean we need to hear every little fart that comes out of Towers mouth regarding the Cub interest. I mean, what's next?, reports on NOTHING happening.

TOWERS REPORTS NO NEW NEWS ON PEAVY FRONT, CUBS STILL FRONTRUNNERS

MONDAY, 7:35pm - still nothing.

i'd rather hear about Franquelis Osoria's minor league deal than that.

Saul and DodgersBruin,

Seriously...why are you posting to this thread?

Here are the facts:

The Peavy - Cubs/Braves stuff generates probably more comments than any other post.

More comments = more readers/site visits

More readers/site visits = more appeal for companies to advertise on the website

More appeal for companies to advertise = more money in Tim's pocket...and this is his full time job.

Again, if you don't like it, no one is forcing you to read the thread. I'm not really sure what there is to complain about.

Aduncaroo,

Did you mean to have Marshall on the table for the Peavy deal, because according to what you have right now the Padres would have to be willing to settle for a low level pitching prospect and whatever prospect they could get for Pie or Vitters. Olson and a low level pitching prospect from the Cubs doesn't seem like a lot more pitching than a Braves package of Morton and Boyer.

Anyways, I agree that comparing the offers doesn't mean all that much, because they likely offer different things, but I think its interesting to discuss the merits and relative values of different packages. The point I was trying to make with the Braves offer compared to the Cubs offer being bandied about right now is that the Braves offer seems to have more, or at worst equivalent, "value" even if it doesn't match KT's desire for pitching (though he clearly needs a SS as well). Basically, if Towers takes Vitters, Olson, Marshall, and Cedeno/Fontenot he's essentially admitting defeat. I'm not saying he won't accept it, just that I think he will look bad if he does.

"Kenny, I don't think a team can be a "dark horse" unless it has anything of value to trade. For that reason the Astros aren't an option."

How are they any different than the Cubs from that comment? Both are weak in the prospect front, but if the Astros are willing to give up Pence and involve a 3rd team then they will have a better offer than just about anything the Cubs can give up. Both are going to need a 3rd team to get something done, but to say they don't have a shot because of prospects, but the Cubs do, is ludicrous. If the Astros are willing to part with Wigginton, Valverde, and maybe Pence then they would have a better deal, assuming their is a 3rd team that wants Wigginton and Valverde(Indians or a combination of Mets and another team)

we all need to remember peavy has a no trade clause. he listed the braves as one of his initial teams, but maybe he went to towers and said e was only willing to go to the cubs now. in that case, towers has to get a decent return for him, or keep him. we dont know what peavy has said. so, in this case, it wouldnt matter what the braves offered.

rememberthecoop,

I think the whole point of that deal was that the Cubs take on GMJ to make the DLee acquisition more payroll neutral for the Angels and to convince the Angels to give up Brandon Wood and another prospect for DLee. There is no way Lee nets a guy like Wood without the Cubs eating salary or taking a bad contract back. I doubt that idea will happen, but if the Cubs decide Peavy is more important than a RF its not that crazy.

The Braves will not go after Peavy any more. Wren doesn't like his possible health issues. Wren doesn't like Burnett's either, which is why it's strange to me that the Braves are sitting quiet and not doing much. I don't see how we can get Peavy and still keep Marshall and Font either, but then again who saw the Kevin Gregg/Jose Ceda trade coming? Why not go ahead and get Brian Giles in the Peavy trade and give up a bigger piece of our hitting lineup. That wouldn't be the first option, just food for thought, because let's be honest, No one wants to see Mark Teahen playing Right field for the Cubs next year. He couldn't hit in Kansas City, why would he be able to hit in Wrigley where people will hate him after he goes 0 for 20 in his first at-bats.

I see what you're saying about Matthews, but he wouldn't fulfill the Cubs need for a lefty hitter, which is more important than another starter. He hit .223 as a lefty last season and only .219 on the road.

"basicslop- "This is all a coy..." What the hell is a coy?! Did you mean to say it's all a PLOY or perhaps that Towers is PLAYING coy or...? Just curious."

Either or. I'm having a hard time coming back to work after the long weekend.

My bad.

rememberthecoop,

Ill admit Matthews had a bad year last year but he was also injured most of the year. Towards the end of the season he got healthy and started to produce. He also plays gold glove caliber defense

A 28 year-old journeyman has a very good 243 at-bats and suddenly he's off limits in a deal involving Jake Peavy?

As for Marshall, a nice guy to have around, why is he suddenly so valuable? Yes he's a lefty, but his minor league track record is spotty at best and he's replaceable.

Aduncaroo,

I'll give you that offer, especially with Jackson as the low level guy, is better than the Braves rumored offer. The Braves offer would probably be similar in value, at least in my eyes, if they replaced Boyer with Locke or Rohrbough, but at this point that is unlikely to happen.

A more to the point explanation is the Cubs want Peavy and the Angels have the prospects to acquire Peavy. The Angels need a 1st baseman, and the Angels wanna dump Matthews' contract.

leave it to the cubbies to want one of the premier players for next to nothing, yet give up a great prospect for an overrated reliever when you already have a guy who loves the team in wood

Just a hunch, but I don't see the Cubs getting Peavy. Nor do they really want him. I agree that Hendry as Tower's friend is hanging around helping his friend drive up the price while at the same time thinking he would certainly take Peavy if he falls into his lap. But a left hitting RF is the more pressing concern.

Also, from what I've read, the Cubs are more interested in DeJesus from the Royals...which I would be cool with...depending on what they give up.

It is quite clear that Kevin Towers is down a road of no return...

He does not want Peavy back and in this market, even for a Jake Peavy teams are not going to cough up two or three cheap studs for Peavy.

Peavy's contract is slightly below market value. Most teams would prefer paying market value for C.C., Lowe, Burnett, or take a flyer on Sheets then pony up for Peavy.

The Cubs will certainly take Peavy if Towers will accept spare parts and marginal players.

EVERYONE!!!

Peavy wasn't traded to Atlanta for this reason:

Are you listening Braves fans?

He has a no trade clause!

He said NO to a trade to Atlanta!

THE END.

"Still against getting Peavy..."

I am not 100% against it, but not all fired up for a few reasons. A lot will be told to me in the next day or two and then I'll make a better judgement call on this situation.

jtcubbies you got a source on that one? Seems pretty clear the Braves pulled out because of the price and start of FA, not the other way around.

Can someone tell me if Derrek Lee actually blocked a trade??

I keep reading it on Prosportsdaily.com under the cubs message board as well as NSBB.com under the Peavy thread in the message board.

It is also on Cubs.com message board saying he blocked one. I think this would be big news considering the recent O's, Padres, and Cubs rumor trade for Peavy. Could he have blocked it to the O's???

It is driving me nuts and if someone has a link or source wether it is true or false would be great!

I haven't seen it documented anywhere that Lee blocked a trade...

If it were true, you would think we would have heard a little more about it.

Gbizle7,

Why would we give up Lee? I agree with you 100%. I believe he will have a comeback year, even though he had a good year last year. He was just down in homeruns and hit too many groundballs. He is the type of guy, who in my own opinion, can figure out his power struggles. I believe he is worth every penny of that $12 million contract!

The package Atlanta offered blew away anything the Cubs could offer!

It was more than enough to get Peavy!

Get over it nixa37

I'm sorry he didn't say "no" to a trade to Atlanta

He said "NO WAY" to Atlanta!