Jake Peavy To Miss 4-6 Weeks With Rib Fracture

One of the summer's most intriguing trade chips has likely been taken off the market, as the White Sox announced yesterday that Jake Peavy will be shut down for the next four-to-six weeks with a non-displaced rib fracture.  The veteran right-hander began to feel the injury on Sunday and attempted to make his scheduled start on Tuesday night against the Mariners but only lasted 2 1/3 innings (allowing six runs) before being pulled from the game.

“It’s just unfortunate,” Peavy told reporters, including Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago. “It’s unfortunate that something crazy like this comes about….The hardest thing is there is nothing to do to help a bone heal quicker. You don’t cast it. You feel normal, but yet you can’t even ride a bike, your breathing. There’s not a whole lot.”

The 32-year-old already had a checkered injury history but appeared to be in good health and good form in 2012 (when he posted a 3.37 ERA over 219 innings and made the AL All-Star team) and through this season, as Peavy had a 3.62 ERA before Tuesday's tough outing in Seattle.

Peavy's injury hurts the White Sox on two levels.  His absence could put an end to Chicago's hopes of getting back to .500 and into the playoff race, and it also means that the club has one less major asset to sell at the trade deadline if they choose to look ahead to 2014.  Peavy wouldn't start pitching until after the All-Star break even in a best-case scenario, leaving very little time to prove that he's healthy enough for another team to give up anything significant in a deal.

Peavy recently said he had accepted the idea of being traded and was open to joining a contender, though his preference was to spend the rest of his career with the White Sox.