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Jake Peavy

AL Central Notes: Peavy, Perkins, McDonald, Indians

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We learned earlier today that the White Sox are reportedly "open for business" and willing to trade anyone besides Chris Sale and their long-time franchise cornerstone Paul Konerko. Here's more on the Sox as well as the rest of the American League Central…

  • Jake Peavy knows that he could become a trade chip for the White Sox if he comes back healthy after the All-Star break, but he told Doug Padilla of ESPN Chicago that he hopes that doesn't happen. Peavy voiced a desire to remain in Chicago but noted that he and his teammates control their own fate. If the team doesn't put together a significant winning streak quickly, Peavy acknowledges that GM Rick Hahn could very well trade him.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that if the Twins were to make closer Glen Perkins available this July, a major bidding war would break out. Olney told 1500 ESPN that he's spoken to several people who think Perkins would be the "No. 1 guy on the market" (Twitter link). Perkins is in the first year of a three-year, $10.3MM contract that contains a $4.5MM club option.
  • Indians general manager Chris Antonetti spoke with Olney as a guest on today's Baseball Tonight Podcast (Antonetti joins around the 30-minute mark) and spoke at length about the trade deadline. Antonetti said he likes this time of year and considers it exciting, as it gives he and his fellow GMs a chance to shape their organizations. Antonetti side-stepped a question about what the Tribe would be looking for in July, saying their focus for the time being is getting healthy.
  • Antonetti also discussed the difficult situation of designating John McDonald for assignment. He told Olney that the team was up front that a DFA was a very possible outcome when Asdrubal Cabrera returned from the DL, but it was still tough due to the great respect they have for McDonald.
  • Antonetti added that relationships with other GMs are a huge factor in trade negotiations, and discussed how he stays connected with other general managers to maintain strong relationships. The entire interview gives a nice look into the mindset of a GM at this time of year and is worth listening to.

Padres Expected To Pursue Starting Pitching

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The surprising Padres are off to a 38-38 start despite a 4.56 ERA from their starters that ranks as the second-worst mark in the National League. In fact, only five teams in all of baseball have a worse ERA from their rotation. It isn't surprising to see Jon Heyman of CBS Sports report that the Friars will be on the lookout for candidates to improve their starting rotation in the coming five to six weeks as the trade deadline draws near.

Heyman reports that the Padres have more money to spend than in previous years, and while it's a long-shot, they've discussed Jake Peavy internally. A more realistic target could be the Orioles' Jake Arrieta, whom Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported as a possible Padres target over the weekend. Heyman adds that younger starters like Arrieta are probably more realistic targets for the Padres, as they could add to an emerging core of controllable talent like Yonder Alonso, Jedd Gyorko and Everth Cabrera.

Jake Peavy To Miss 4-6 Weeks With Rib Fracture

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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.

Peavy Open To A Trade, If Necessary

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Jake Peavy would ideally like to spend the rest of his career with the White Sox, but the veteran right-hander tells CSN Chicago's Chuck Garfien that if the club fell out of contention and felt it necessary to move Peavy in a trade, he would accept such a move. 

“If we’re not in it, I have no problems being moved to a team who is in contention and trying to win a World Series, so I’ll go play anywhere,” Peavy said. “If it comes down to having and feeling like it’s best for them to move me, I’ll go play anywhere that feels like they have a chance. If a team’s going to trade for you, they feel like they have a chance and they’re trying to make the necessary moves. But at the end of the day, we hope and we pray that doesn’t happen.”

Peavy made his comments during a taping of CSN's "Inside Look: Jake Peavy" program (airing tonight) and made it clear that he would have no hard feelings about being traded if it meant having a shot at the postseason. 

“It’s just the business of the game. You pay players and you have players in place to try to win a division, get in the playoffs, to win a world championship and when that doesn’t go as planned, things have to happen and the organization has to sit down and look at what’s best for the organization," Peavy said.  "Is it best to keep players who make a nice salary on a team that’s not destined to do anything, or is it best to move them and get some prospects in return and shed some money? If it does and we don't play well and don't have a realistic chance to win the division, I'm sure that bridge will be crossed and I'll do anything the White Sox ask me to do at that point in time."

Peavy signed a two-year, $29MM extension with the White Sox in October that contains an option for 2015 that could become a player option if the 32-year-old pitches a certain amount of innings in this season and the next.  The deal didn't contain any no-trade protection, though as Peavy explained to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune last month, he felt a no-trade clause was irrelevant at this stage in his career since he only wants to play for a contender and only teams in the hunt would want to acquire the righty.

With a 3.62 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 4.40 K/BB ratio through 10 starts this season, Peavy is pitching well and would provide an upgrade to any contending team's rotation.  While Cliff Lee has garnered perhaps the most speculation as a midseason trade candidate, Peavy is two years younger and has a much more team-friendly contract than the Phillies' southpaw, who is owed at least $68.75MM through the 2015 season.

The White Sox are currently mired in a seven-game losing streak and are in fourth place in the AL Central with a 24-31 record.  It seems more and more likely that the Southsiders will be sellers at the deadline, and it has been rumored that the Sox could be willing to listen to offers on anyone except Chris Sale.  Peavy would be perhaps their biggest trade chip, as his reasonable contract would draw interest from both contenders and would-be contenders who would perhaps be looking to reload for 2014, such as the Blue Jays (who tried to trade for Peavy last fall) Angels, Brewers or Dodgers.

Quick Hits: Wang, Padres, Bochy, Tigers, Peavy

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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.

Quick Hits: Astros, Middlebrooks, Peavy, Rodriguez

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Matt Harvey posted a game score of 97 while taking a perfect game into the seventh, striking out 12, and walking none over nine innings against the White Sox Tuesday night, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports notes (on Twitter). Only 40 outings of nine innings or fewer since 1916 have earned a higher game score. Here's a collection of notes from around the majors.

  • The nine Asian-born pitchers who have pitched in the big leagues this year have combined to post numbers similar to a typical Justin Verlander season, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says. Those nine pitchers have 241 1/3 innings pitched so far in 2013, with a 2.91 ERA, 9.6 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. Yu Darvish has been a big part of that, of course, but Hyun-Jin Ryu, Hisashi Iwakuma, Hiroki Kuroda, Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara have also pitched well. The past struggles of pitchers like Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Irabu have allowed today's Asian-born pitchers to fly under the radar somewhat, Cameron argues, and he wonders whether pitchers from overseas leagues might be undervalued in the market. Specifically, he says, emphasis on fastball velocity and breaking balls may cause teams to undervalue pitchers with great splitters or changeups.
  • Free agency has become "a used car lot cluttered with lemons," with only a few bargains to be found, Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated argues, citing the examples of Josh Hamilton (Angels), B.J. Upton (Braves) and Zack Greinke (Dodgers). Thus far, Hamilton and Upton have failed to produce with their new teams, and Greinke is hurt. In the past four seasons, Verducci notes, there have been 24 free-agent contracts worth $35MM or more. Most of those have turned out badly, and some (such as Jason Bay's deal with the Mets) have looked bad almost immediately. That means that "win[ning] the winter" by signing the biggest-name free agents isn't all it's cracked up to be, as the 2012 Marlins can attest. This year's Angels and Dodgers have struggled out of the gate, and so have the Blue Jays (who had a big offseason mostly driven by trades).
  • The Astros' decisions to designate Rick Ankiel and Fernando Martinez for assignment made their outfield more athletic, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart says. Robbie Grossman, Brandon Barnes and Jimmy Paredes started in the outfield for the Astros Tuesday night. "We went out to get more athletic, get more guys who have the ability to mishit the ball and still have a possibility of getting on base because of their athletic ability," says manager Bo Porter.
  • Will Middlebrooks and David Ross left the Red Sox's game against the Twins Tuesday night after they collided. There is no indication yes that Middlebrooks will miss significant time. But after Middlebrooks, the Red Sox have little depth at third base, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports. Utility infielder Pedro Ciriaco "isn't the answer," MacPherson says, and the choices at Triple-A Pawtucket aren't thrilling. Minor-league veteran Justin Henry, who was acquired in the offseason for Rule 5 pick Jeff Kobernus, may be the best option there. Brock Holt, who arrived from the Pirates with Joel Hanrahan in the offseason, is another possibility. Of course, Middlebrooks himself has struggled this year, hitting just .195/.232/.281.
  • Jake Peavy does not have a no-trade clause in his new contract with the White Sox, and he doesn't need one, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. "I told (GM) Rick Hahn that if he didn’t trade me before spring training was over, that was good enough for me," says Peavy, pointing out that it's unlikely he will be traded if the White Sox are contending.
  • Rosenthal also notes that Madison Bumgarner's contract with the Giants could be one of the most team-friendly in baseball. Bumgarner, 23, would have been eligible for free agency after the 2016 season, but his new deal contains cheap team options that can allow the Giants to carry him through 2019.
  • The Brewers have assigned Francisco Rodriguez to Class A+ Brevard County, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes. Rodriguez will make three relief appearances there, then head to Triple-A Nashville. The Brewers must promote Rodriguez to the majors by May 17, or he can become a free agent. Rodriguez posted a 4.38 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 78 appearances with the Brewers in 2012.
  • Diamond Mines' new database provides a fascinating look at old scouting reports, including many in the scouts' own handwriting.

Cafardo On Peavy, Orioles, Lee, Vazquez, Dodgers

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In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that it would be a shame if David Ortiz can't stay healthy given his level of production so far this year.  Even as he seems locked in at the plate, he's not in perfect health.  “I’m seeing the ball and hitting the ball good,” the 37-year-old said. “I just keep going out there, seeing and hitting the ball. I’m keeping it simple right now. I’m not trying to do too much and the hits are falling. And some hits get taken away. I’m still not 100 percent down there [pointing to his legs].”  Here's more from today's column..

  • Right-hander Jake Peavy is on the disabled list again, but he’s going to be very much in demand before the trading deadline if the White Sox start selling off. “He’s a great fit for a team like [the Orioles],” said one National League GM. “They’re looking to add that veteran, battle-tested pitcher to really finish off their staff and that Peavy type would be ideal.” The only problem is that the money might deter them.  Cliff Lee of the Phillies would also be an ideal guy, but he too is pricey.
  • Teams are still monitoring Javier Vazquez's recovery from knee surgery because he could be talked into pitching again and could be a solid mid-rotation starter.  Vazquez was in winter ball and wanted to come back to the majors, but the knee issue seemed to put that to rest. For the right contract, however, he can have a change of heart.
  • Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire doesn’t have a contract for next year, but he is earning one with Minnesota’s better-than-expected start.  With the pitching staff performing well and the lineup exceeding expectations, don’t be surprised if he gets a mid-season extension.
  • Hanley Ramirez is signed through 2014, so the Dodgers may eventually move Dee Gordon to second base, unless they feel they can sign Robinson Cano as a free agent after the season.  The Dodgers are unlikely to pick up their $5.75MM option on Mark Ellis.

AL Notes: Victorino, Peavy, La Russa

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26-year-old Yankees righty Phil Hughes makes his third start of the year tonight against the Diamondbacks after being hit hard in his first two outings.  He's a free agent after the season, and John Harper of the New York Daily News opined on Saturday, "Hughes is a useful pitcher who probably will get a multi-year contract with a National League team that will hope his 4.41 career ERA will improve if he pitches in a roomier ballpark against lineups without a DH."  Elsewhere around the American League:

  • Why did the Red Sox target Shane Victorino during the offseason?  WEEI's Alex Speier lists four reasons: defense, the lack of draft pick compensation required, the ability to get him on a shorter term, and his fit in their market.
  • "When you get to a point that I am in my career, no-trade (clauses) mean nothing to me," said White Sox righty Jake Peavy to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, in explaining why he didn't require one in his recent two-year deal with the team.  Peavy hopes to win a World Series in Chicago, but he acknowledged that if the Sox look to trade him at some point, it would only be if the team is not contending.  Peavy was nearly traded to the Blue Jays in October before signing, we learned Tuesday from Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca.
  • "I'm not going to manage again," Tony La Russa told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports amid "industry speculation" that he could replace Mike Scioscia as Angels manager.  La Russa, currently working in the commissioner's office, intends to eventually join a team in an executive capacity.

Blue Jays Nearly Acquired Peavy In October

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The Blue Jays were involved in some of the biggest trades of the offseason, but things could have played out differently had it not been for a last-minute extension between the White Sox and Jake Peavy. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes that the Blue Jays were close to acquiring Peavy from the White Sox prior to the signing of that two-year, $29MM extension.

The White Sox would've sent $4MM to Toronto along with Peavy in exchange for a player or players whose value exceeded a compensatory draft pick in the eyes of Chicago GM Rick Hahn. Effectively, the Jays were looking at getting Peavy on a one-year, $18MM. Presumably, this is the near-deal that Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos was referring to back in January.

Peavy himself acknowledged to Davidi that he had heard "some rumblings" about discussions between White Sox and another team, but went on to say that he wanted to remain in Chicago as he felt he had "unfinished business" with the South Siders.

Davidi notes that while the trade didn't end up going through, it helped to lay the groundwork for the Blue Jays' eventual blockbusters with the Marlins and Mets. Anthopoulos and president Paul Beeston had to obtain permission from ownership to exceed payroll to acquire Peavy, and that permission carried over into the eventual trades to acquire Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle and R.A. Dickey.

AL Central Links: Sale, Peavy, Guthrie, Leyland

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Here's the latest from the AL Central…

  • Chris Sale doesn't know of any discussion between his representatives and the White Sox about a possible long-term deal but is happy to take one-year contracts for now, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.  "I know it [a multiyear deal] happens from time to time," Sale said. "But I'm just doing my stuff. If something happens, we'll see."  Sale will be arbitration-eligible for the first time next winter and is scheduled for free agency after the 2016 season.
  • Jake Peavy and White Sox GM Rick Hahn talked to MLB.com's Scott Merkin about the steps that led to Peavy re-signing with the club, both sides' mutual interest in continuing their relationship and Peavy's agent switch to CAA's Jeff Berry.
  • Jeremy Guthrie talks to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel about why he re-signed with the Royals, despite offers from other teams.  Guthrie signed a three-year, $25MM contract with Kansas City in November.
  • Jim Leyland thinks Andy Dirks has the ability to be an everyday player, but the Tigers manager tells reporters (including MLB.com's Adam Berry) that he would like to have a right-handed hitting outfielder who could occasionally spell Dirks when Detroit faces a tough lefty starter.
  • Some more White Sox and Tigers items can be found in Ben Nicholson-Smith's edition of Quick Hits, published earlier today on MLBTR.
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