Gammons On Peavy, Greene, Holliday

More rumors from ESPN.com's Peter Gammons in his latest column:

  • Gammons says it made sense for Kenny Williams to try to deal for Jake Peavy because the AL Central is winnable and Gordon Beckham wasn't part of the deal.
  • Gammons expects teams to be wary of no-trade clauses after seeing Peavy thwart the Padres' plans to deal him.  
  • Nats GM Mike Rizzo wants to deal now, while more teams are in the pennant race and remain possible buyers.  
  • Rizzo would like to improve his bullpen, which has an ERA nearing 7.00. 
  • The Red Sox want to wait on David Ortiz and plan on giving him the chance to start hitting. He finally homered this week, but has struck out in seven of his last 20 plate appearances. 
  • Gammons believes it makes sense for the Cardinals to see if the Red Sox have interest in Khalil Greene 
  • Billy Beane may face a limited market for Matt Holliday if he decides to trade the left fielder in July. 

Jake Peavy Not A Fit In Boston

According to Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald the Red Sox are reluctant to go after Jake Peavy because he's owed lots of money and they question his durability and how well he'd transition into the AL East. The Red Sox have a deep rotation anyways, especially with Daisuke Matsuzaka set to return and John Smoltz rehabbing, so I doubt they were that interested to begin with.

In the aftermath of the failed White Sox-Padres swap that would have sent Peavy to Chicago, there are other reactions from around the majors:

  • MLB.com's Todd Zolecki wonders if it would be smart for the Phillies to acquire Peavy. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. declined to comment on the chances of making such a deal happen.
  • Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Cubs GM Jim Hendry didn't comment when asked about re-starting talks to acquire the righty. Ryan Theriot sounds excited about pursuing Peavy.
  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan writes that Peavy made the right call, since the White Sox are no sure thing.

Jake Peavy Will Not Accept Trade to White Sox

6:10pm: Ken Rosenthal argues that Peavy's decision to nix the deal was justified, saying,  "If I were Jake Peavy, I would not go to the White Sox."

Rosenthal thinks back to the offseason, when the Padres "blew two chances" to trade Peavy. "The Braves clearly offered a better package than the White Sox. The Cubs' deal might have turned out better, too." He writes tha the longer the Padres take to deal Peavy, the less they will get in return.

Rosenthal has doubts about the White Sox's ability to compete in the future, and he says that this may have been on Peavy's mind when he rejected the trade.

5:53pm: Jon Heyman writes that Peavy will speak to the media shortly after 6pm CST. He also mentions that the White Sox were asked by the Padres earlier in the day if they had "any ideas on how to persuade" Peavy to accept the deal.

5:41pm: Joe Cowley and Toni Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times are reporting that sources close to Peavy say that he has notified the Padres that he will not accept a trade to the White Sox.  Peavy talked it over with his family and decided not to make the move.  Manager Ozzie Guillen admitted he was surprised the Sox were willing to take on the $60MM commitment.

5:25pm: Via Twitter, Jon Heyman reports that the White Sox will not try to convince Peavy to agree to the deal by committing to pick up the $22MM option in his contract for 2013. This is still in Peavy's hands.

1:27pm: Gonzales has more from Linebrink about his conversation with Peavy.  Linebrink didn't see the AL/NL thing as a big concern for Peavy.

Also, Diamond Leung passes along a Ned Colletti interview with Dan Patrick today.  The Dodgers GM spoke to Towers about a Peavy trade as recently as a month ago but the asking price was too high.  Meanwhile the Red Sox have not been involved, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.

12:47pm: Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune says Peavy will likely not be traded to the White Sox, presumably because he'll veto the deal if it reaches that point.  Krasovic notes that in addition to Poreda and Richard, Lance Broadway has been discussed.

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times explains why the trade would make sense for the Sox and why it wouldn't.

12:21pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says beyond Poreda and Richard, the Padres would choose two players to be named later from a list of four.  Axelrod explained the situation to Rosenthal:

"Approval or disapproval is not necessarily black or white.  Depending on what is involved could make it more desirable or less desirable. There may be certain things he has to have as conditions. We're not near the point of talking about that, what he would want to see adjusted if he were to approve."

11:52am: ESPN's Jerry Crasnick talked to Axelrod, who gave the impression that Peavy is leaning against accepting the trade:

"If I had to make a bet on it, I would guess that Jake would say he's not ready to take that step today.  But he wouldn't necessarily preclude it at any time in the future."

Peavy maintains his strong preference for the NL.

11:31am: Brock talked to Peavy's agent Barry Axelrod.  Axelrod hasn't spoken to Peavy yet today, but was asked by the Padres "about Jake's feeling about the possibility of (playing for) the White Sox."

10:11am: ESPN's Peter Gammons says Beckham is not part of the deal.  CBS' Danny Knobler says it would be Poreda, Richard, and one or two others.  The others would also be pitchers, says Knobler.  Yahoo's Gordon Edes says the White Sox have agreed to send four pitching prospects including Poreda and Richard.

ESPN's Bruce Levine talked to White Sox pitcher and former Peavy teammate Scott Linebrink, who gave Peavy a 50-50 chance of accepting the deal.

9:39am: MLB.com's Corey Brock and Scott Merkin say Poreda and Clayton Richard are believed to be part of the deal.

9:19am: Jon Heyman says the White Sox and Padres have agreed to a Peavy trade, and await the pitcher's approval.  MLB.com's Corey Brock agrees.  Ken Williams, always operating under the radar.  Now we get to see just how much Peavy hates the AL.

Peavy is owed an additional $8.35MM this year, $15MM in '10, $16MM in '11, $17MM in '12, and a $4MM buyout for '13.  Total: $60.35MM guaranteed through 2012.  It is surprising to see the White Sox willing to take on such a commitment to a pitcher.

No idea if he's involved, but yes, the Sox could trade Gordon Beckham in this deal as a player to be named later.

9:09am: Via Gonzales on Twitter: "Waiting for approval from Peavy on SD trade, according to source."

6:51am: Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that the Padres are in discussions to send Jake Peavy to the White Sox.

According to Padres personnel, Peavy met with Padres manager Bud Black late Wednesday night to discuss a trade overture from the Sox.

It is apparently a four-player offer, which would presumably gut Chicago's farm system.  Peavy would have to approve any trade and according to Krasovic Peavy is telling people that the trade is "something to think about."  However, Krasovic says Peavy "may have reservations about pitching for Ozzie Guillen." 

MLB.com's Corey Brock asked Peavy about the rumor.  He said, "I only know what you guys [media] know."  Brock expects the Padres would require a frontline pitcher like Aaron Poreda.  Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald makes the Poreda link as well, but finds Peavy's contract prohibitive.  Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says the Padres had a scout watching the White Sox last weekend in Toronto.  Meanwhile, SI's Jon Heyman says Peavy still prefers the West or Midwest and the NL.  Heyman likes the Cubs or Brewers.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here Tim Dierkes also contributed to this post.

Stark On White Sox, Bedard, A’s, Penny

A new Rumblings and Grumblings column from ESPN's Jayson Stark

  • Even if they don't acquire Jake Peavy, the White Sox are apparently "open for business."  Stark takes that to mean names such as Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Octavio Dotel, and A.J. Pierzynski could hit the market.
  • The Mariners are not quite yet at the point of making Erik Bedard available.  They figure to price him like an ace if they do so.
  • If A's GM Billy Beane decides to fold on 2009, he could make veterans such as Matt Holliday, Orlando Cabrera, Jason Giambi, and Russ Springer available.
  • It's very unlikely that the D'Backs shop Brandon Webb this summer, since he'll be coming off a shoulder injury.
  • Indians GM Mark Shapiro seems to be leaning toward hanging on to Cliff Lee for now.  Shapiro may look to add pitching by trading Mark DeRosa or an outfielder.
  • The Red Sox are "actively listening" on Brad Penny.  My opinion: the Phillies, Indians, White Sox, or Mets could make sense.

Odds And Ends: Jones, Peralta, Liriano

Lins for Saturday morning…

  • As ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports, Adam Jones is pleased that the Orioles have so much pitching approaching the majors, but he wants to win now.
  • SI.com's Tom Verducci calls Jones baseball's most improved player and breaks down the outfielder's hot start.
  • Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Jhonny Peralta is playing third base for now.
  • Rob Neyer of ESPN.com writes that there are no guarantees for Francisco Cervelli once Jose Molina and Jorge Posada are fully healthy. 
  • Neyer adds that the Twins need Francisco Liriano to take his game to the next level and regain the form that saw him dominate the American League in 2006. 
  • In a third piece, Neyer weighs in on the White Sox, concluding that there's no reason to panic in a division that the Sox could take with 85 wins. Still, the team has issues in center field and in the middle infield.

Discussion: White Sox Offseason

Up for discussion next, the offseason of the Chicago White Sox.  Sun-Times writers Joe Cowley and Chris De Luca have differing viewpoints on GM Ken Williams' work.

The points to argue:

  • White Sox second basemen (mainly Chris Getz and Brent Lillibridge) are hitting .233/.313/.302 this year.  Should Williams have acquired a veteran?  Cowley mentions Orlando Hudson, who would've cost the team's #23 pick.
  • Did Williams make a mistake in not acquiring a leadoff hitter and/or center fielder?  The Sox have tried Getz, Lillibridge, Jayson Nix, and others leading off, resulting in a .289 OBP.  In hindsight the better #1/2 hitters available were probably Felipe Lopez (a Scott Boras client), Willy Taveras, Coco Crisp, Hudson, and Freddy Sanchez.  It's been Brian Anderson, Scott Podsednik, DeWayne Wise, and Lillibridge in center field; the free agent market was weak.
  • Should the White Sox have made an effort to mend the relationship and re-sign shortstop Orlando Cabrera?  They did offer him arbitration, but with the expectation he'd decline.
  • Should the Sox have gotten more than Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez, and Jhonny Nunez for Nick Swisher and Kanekoa Texeira?  Or should they have kept Swisher?
  • How about Javier Vazquez, who was dealt with Boone Logan for Tyler Flowers, Jon Gilmore, Santos Rodriguez, and Lillibridge?  The Sox replaced Vazquez with Bartolo Colon.
  • Should the Sox have tried to hammer out a deal with Boras to retain Joe Crede?  The third baseman jumped to the Twins for a $2.5MM base salary and is hitting .237/.302/.454 in 106 plate appearances with stellar defense.

Odds & Ends: Bonds, Armas, Strasburg

Links for Wednesday…

Odds & Ends: Proctor, Dunn, Contreras

Links for Tuesday…

Rosenthal On Ortiz, Braves, White Sox

The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports

  • Rosenthal notes how easy it would be for the Red Sox to find a left-handed hitter to top David Ortiz's 2009 production – many such bats are impending free agents and could be available in July.  A shortstop and young catcher also remain on Boston's wish list.  Unfortunately, with no-trade protection and about $22.5MM remaining on his contract, Ortiz is pretty much immovable.
  • Former D'Backs pitching coach Bryan Price resigned in part due to reservations about working for new manager A.J. Hinch. 
  • Rosenthal notes the Braves' surplus of quality minor league arms, and suggests they're well-equipped to trade for a bat.  The Braves rank 11th in the NL with 4.41 runs scored per game.
  • The White Sox's rotation is looking a bit shaky given the ineffectiveness of Jose Contreras.  Rosenthal says "the team eventually figures to be in the market for a starter."  The Sox are hanging in there at 3.5 games out with a 14-17 record.
  • Aside from Cliff Lee, Rosenthal believes Indians infielder Mark DeRosa could draw attention closer to the trade deadline.

Contreras Sent To Minors

2:54pm: Scot Gregor informs us that White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper said on the radio this morning that Contreras will be sent to the Triple-A Charlotte in order to regain his rhythm.

Contreras will have to clear waivers, but has accepted his demotion.

Gregor cites one Major League scout saying:

"I wouldn't say his career is over. His stuff looked fine to me. But you could tell he had no feel at all for his split-finger pitch."

Clayton Richard will replace Contreras in the Chicago rotation, and make the start Wednesday against Cleveland.

9:41am: The White Sox are expected to make a decision on what to do with Jose Contreras, says Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun Times. Contreras, whose command has faltered, is 0-5 with a 8.19 ERA in six starts.

"The Sox could put Contreras, who is earning $10 million this season, in the bullpen to work on his problems, send him to the minor leagues — though he first would have to accept the demotion and pass through waivers — or find a reason to put him on the disabled list. If they decide to demote him — and Contreras says he will do whatever the team asks — it's unlikely any team would claim him because of his salary."

Contreras had a speedy recovery from a ruptured Achilles this offseason but has begun the season in ugly fashion, walking 16 and allowing 40 hits in 29.2 IP while striking out a mere 17. While strikeouts have not been a large part of Contreras' game since his years with the Yankees, control has. He was pulled from the rotation after Friday's loss to the Rangers.

A decision is expected following a bullpen session with Contreras this morning.

Show all