Before Jake Peavy was traded to the White Sox in July 2009, he almost arrived in Chicago a few months earlier as a member of the Cubs. Peavy was the centerpiece of a proposed trade between the Cubs and Padres (and possibly also the Orioles and Braves) during the 2008-09 offseason, and as Peavy tells CSN Chicago's Chuck Garfien, the deal seemed to be virtually finalized before either then-Cubs owner Sam Zell or then-Padres CEO Sandy Alderson pulled the plug on the blockbuster.
Here are some more items from around baseball…
- Chien-Ming Wang can opt out of his minor league deal with the Yankees on Friday, and the Orioles are one of several teams scouting the right-hander, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports. The Orioles' interest appears to be only of the due-diligence variety, as Connolly says the team doesn't "appear to be too interested," plus Wang won't exercise his opt-out clause unless he sees a clear opportunity at a Major League starting job with another team.
- The Padres should extend their entire starting infield, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune opines. I'm not sure if Yonder Alonso, Everth Cabrera or Jedd Gyorko had proven themselves as deserving as Chase Headley of a multiyear commitment, nor are the Padres in any real need to lock the three younger players up. Cabrera is already controlled through 2016, Alonso through 2017 and Gyorko through at least 2018 and perhaps longer if he attains Super Two status.
- Before the Giants' win over the Athletics today, Giants manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle) that the club wasn't planning any significant changes in light of its recent slump. The Giants' victory today was just their sixth in their last 16 games, and the World Series champions are 29-25 on the season.
- John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press discusses a number of Tigers topics during a live chat with readers, including whether the Tigers might yet make moves to upgrade their bullpen or catching or if the club will extend Jhonny Peralta's contract.
- In another live chat, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News feels that the outfield is a long-term issue for the Rangers (David Murphy and Nelson Cruz are free agents after this season) and the team could address this problem by using Jurickson Profar to acquire Giancarlo Stanton. Grant also thinks the Rangers could attempt to acquire Cliff Lee this summer, though it will depend on how Martin Perez and Colby Lewis perform after they return from the DL.
