Right-hander Jake Peavy passed on all of the offers he received this winter due to a desire to remain at home with his four sons and spend time with them in the wake of a divorce, but he definitively tells Alex Speier of the Boston Globe that he will again play professional baseball. Whether he signs with a club midseason or elects to simply pursue a minor league pact/Spring Training invite this coming offseason is yet undecided, however.
“I can tell you with certainty, without a shadow of a doubt, I will play baseball again,” said Peavy. “Whether that be this year or next year, I’m still up in the air. There are some opportunities to [sign] tomorrow. If that was to happen, I’m grateful for that. But the last year of my life has presented challenges I didn’t foresee coming. It’s something I’ve embraced.”
Peavy, who turned 36 last week, suggested to Speier that he’s heard from more National League clubs than American League clubs, though Speier writes that a team’s division and league won’t have much of a bearing on Peavy’s decision if he does decide to sign. Rather, he’d unsurprisingly prefer to latch on with a club that has postseason aspirations. The Red Sox, Peavy adds, have not spoken to his agent about a potential reunion.
The 2016 season was the worst of Peavy’s career to date, as the former NL Cy Young winner and two-time World Series champion struggled to a 5.54 ERA through 118 2/3 innings. Of course, his secondary statistics all offered some optimism, as he averaged 7.7 K/9 (his best since 2012) and a solid 2.7 BB/9 with a 36.4 percent ground-ball rate. His 10.5 percent swinging-strike rate, too, was his best since the 2008 season. Metrics such as FIP (4.36), xFIP (4.70) and SIERA (4.40) were all kinder to Peavy than ERA, though none of those marks is exactly eye-catching.
Prior to that unsightly season, however, Peavy had enjoyed a four-year run as a mid-rotation arm for the White Sox, Red Sox and Giants. Though his peak days were behind him by that point, he still managed to deliver a very respectable 3.68 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 across 667 regular-season innings from 2012-15.
If Peavy does decide to sign with a club this summer, he’ll obviously require a bit of time before he’s ready to step right onto a big league pitching staff. While he tells Speier that he’s been throwing a minimum of one 25- to 30-pitch bullpen session per week, he’d still need some work in the minors to build up arm strength and face live hitters.
Another guy that does not realize his career is over. Peavy was good, but he’s no longer that pitcher. Retire.
I think he has the stuff to be a great RP, and maybe even a closer.
If you have an opportunity to latch on with a club and make some decent money doing it regardless if he’s on the downside of his career why then would you want to retire?
I agree, stick a fork in him, he’s done.
Sorry, I agree with vinskully16 above.
A reunion with the Padres after they cut Weaver? Or the Reds. Both of those staffs can use a lot of help.
Keep Weaver, convince brother Jeff to come out of retirement and they’ll have an all star rotation…..in 2008 lol
They might even win the 08 World Series!
Reds could use him right now, but by midseason (when he’s planning on returning), they would likely have little use for him. Finnegan, DeSclafani and Bailey should be back (hopefully) by the All-Star Break at the latest.
Bad investments and divorce will do it to you.
#1 cause of divorce is marriage …
Haha! That’s a good 1!
Spoken like a married man….
The Pirates should really look into him. They could really use a veteran arm, especially now if Nova ends up on the DL
Braves need him…
Everybody is going to say this is the token Braves comment. But we really do need just about anybody to replace Colon and Dickey. Our plan to try and get a decent season out of them or flip them at the deadline has gone horribly wrong lol
Peavy would also be great for a young team that needs more veteran leadership. He thinks he has a little left in the tank and he could also be trying to audition for future coaching opportunities.
Good for JP.