Jake Peavy Rumors: Wednesday

11:00pm: Meanwhile, Yahoo’s Tim Brown says the Braves, Cubs, and Cardinals are all working out contigency plans to replace the players they’d use in a Peavy deal.

10:53pm: Ken Rosenthal says the Cubs are the frontrunner for Peavy, "perhaps even ahead of the Braves." He says the Cubs also want to re-sign Ryan Dempster.  The Cubs’ dream rotation would be Peavy, Carlos Zambrano, Dempster, Ted Lilly, and Rich Harden.

The Braves had a window of exclusivity to hammer out a Peavy trade, but that has apparently passed.  The Padres like the Cubs’ young pitching, even if it doesn’t match Atlanta’s.

If the Cubs pull this off, they’d have to cut costs by perhaps letting Kerry Wood go and going cheaper in right field.

WEDNESDAY, 9:14am: Ken Davidoff swapped emails with Peavy’s agent, Barry Axelrod.  Axelrod stresses that Peavy’s list of preferred teams is just guidance for the Padres, and is not definitive or all-inclusive.  The Padres have not yet requested approval for any team or trade.

TUESDAY: Time to begin a new thread for Jake Peavy rumors.  According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres consider the Braves, Cubs, and Dodgers as potential matches for a Peavy trade.  GM Kevin Towers is "down the road" with two of those clubs (probably the Braves and Cubs), but nothing is imminent.  Things could slow down as free agency opens up, giving potential trade partners more options for their rotations.