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Peavy Pursuit Affects Dempster, Wood

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Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune writes today about how the Cubs’ pursuit of Jake Peavy affects their efforts to re-sign pitchers Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood.

Sullivan believes Dempster would be less likely to give the Cubs a discount if they acquire Peavy, who is set to earn an average of $15.75MM per year.  Jeff Blair, on the other hand, heard Dempster would be willing to give the Cubs a discount due to his desire to be part of a Cubs super-rotation.  It seems that Dempster wants five years and $70MM.  Sullivan says the Cubs offered $50MM over four years, while Ken Rosenthal pegged it as closer to Kyle Lohse’s $41MM.

Would acquiring Peavy and retaining Dempster leave any money for Wood?  Wood anchors the Cubs’ pen, and his Chicago/Jim Hendry loyalty runs deep.  Still, the Cubs would probably have to offer a multiyear deal.  Unloading even half of Jason Marquis’ $9.875MM could go a long way.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Johnson, Peavy, Dempster

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Here’s a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

  • It doesn’t seem likely that Randy Johnson re-signs with the Diamondbacks, though Johnson is holding out filing for free agency until the possibility is exhausted.  The D’Backs hope he will take a significant hometown discount; they have roughly $10MM to spend for Johnson and a second baseman.  If a Mark Loretta type takes $2MM, will Johnson take $8MM after earning $15.1MM for a fine ’08 season?
  • The Braves are frustrated with the progress on the Jake Peavy talks, and will explore other options (especially once the free agent market opens Friday).  Rosenthal says the Padres sent revised proposals to the Cubs and Braves yesterday, but those teams intend to stick with their offers.  Will the Padres crack and make a deal before Friday?
  • Rosenthal criticizes the Padres for the classless farewell to Trevor Hoffman.  They pulled their reduced offer, and didn’t agree to the meeting with ownership he requested.
  • Suddenly there may be more solid free agent closers than teams seeking one.  The Mets have their pick.  To me this is a sign that K-Rod will fall short of five years, $75MM.
  • Rosenthal believes Kevin Gregg is next up on the trading block for the Marlins, with Jeremy Hermida another possibility.
  • Casey Blake doesn’t have any geographic leanings regarding his next destination.  His agent feels a three-year deal is reasonable.  The Twins and Indians are among seven teams eyeing Blake.
  • The Cubs offered Ryan Dempster something in the range of Kyle Lohse’s four years, $41MM.  Teams don’t like to use the Carlos Silva deal as a benchmark, because it was such a clear mistake.

Olney: A’s Nearly Acquired Giles

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Interesting note from Buster Olney’s Sunday blog post:

San Diego nearly dealt Brian Giles to Boston and later to Oakland during the season, and it stands to reason that this winter the Padres will approach Giles about waiving his no-trade rights to facilitate a trade out of San Diego. (As of Saturday evening, they had not done this.)

We knew that Giles vetoed a trade to Boston and would’ve probably done the same if the Rays won the claim.  Olney indicates that Giles was nearly dealt to the A’s later during August, which is confusing given that Boston won the claim and failed to make a trade.

Giles now has full no-trade powers as a 10-and-5 player, and apparently receives a $2MM raise if dealt.  He revealed new information regarding his Boston veto on Friday.  He would’ve spent significant time on the bench for the Red Sox, and the Sox would’ve turned around and traded him this winter.  Furthermore, staying with San Diego allowed Giles to secure the 10-and-5 rights.  He seems more open to a deal now: "If it would help our organization get better, I’m not saying I would veto a trade." 

Jake Peavy Rumors: Monday

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Summing up this weekend’s Jake Peavy information…

  • David O’Brien noted that the friendship between Padres GM Kevin Towers and Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod has raised some eyebrows.  O’Brien also learned that Peavy’s concern over Yunel Escobar being in the deal was overblown – it’s more a general concern that the pitcher joins a strong team.
  • On Saturday, Ken Rosenthal had the Braves and Cubs as frontrunners with the Yankees and Dodgers on the backburner.  He said the Padres discussed keeping Peavy if offers do not suffice.  The Braves were said to be growing impatient.
  • Astros owner Drayton McLane indicated the Padres’ demands for Peavy were too high for his club – "multiple players and some of our best players."
  • Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times had it as a race between the Cubs and Braves, with the Dodgers a long shot.  De Luca said no other teams will be considered at this point.  A Cubs deal would apparently include Sean Marshall, and possibly Kevin Hart and Mike Fontenot.  Jeff Samardzija is not in the mix.
  • Dave O’Brien says the Braves’ offer looks something like this: Escobar, Gorkys Hernandez or Jordan Schafer, and one or two pitching prospects (possibly Charlie Morton or Jo-Jo Reyes among them).  Tommy Hanson is not in the mix.  O’Brien agrees that it’s between the Braves and Cubs, and likes the Braves’ package more.  O’Brien expects a deal before Thanksgiving, which is November 27th.

Cardinals Rumors: Hudson, Lopez, Kennedy

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The Cardinals have moved on from Matt Holliday for the time being; let’s see what else is cooking.  Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has the latest.  Middle infield seems to be the primary concern now. 

One option is to pursue a trade for Kelly Johnson or Yunel Escobar of the Braves, but that will probably require Ryan Ludwick.  However, those talks must wait until the Braves resolve their chase of Jake Peavy.

On the free agent front, the Cardinals are interested in Orlando Hudson but not Felipe Lopez. Scott Boras seems to be aiming for a multiyear deal for Lopez. 

Adam Kennedy wants out of St. Louis, and the D’Backs may be interested.  GM John Mozeliak is said to be reluctant to eat a "significant piece" of Kennedy’s $4MM.  The D’Backs barely seem willing to spend that amount on Randy Johnson.

The bullpen is the other concern, but Trevor Hoffman is apparently not on the radar.

Odds & Ends: Padres, Baldelli, Hillenbrand

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Some linkage for your Sunday afternoon reading pleasure…

  • Buster Olney takes a look at the dark time that’s ahead for the Padres, likening it to the state the franchise was in when John Moores took over back in 1994.
  • Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal talked to Rocco Baldelli about his amazing comeback this season, and the next step in his career.
  • We already saw the main portion of this article from Nick Cafardo talked about today, but it’s worth highlighting that Cafardo sat down to talk with Shea Hillenbrand, who would like to make a comeback and feels he can still play. Hillenbrand says he’s learned a lot and hit .340 playing Independent Ball in 2008. He could be an interesting low-risk, high-reward player for a team in need of a DH or corner infielder. Cafardo also points out that for all of the talk about needing closers, George Sherrill is quietly available.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Nationals, Manny, Peavy, Vazquez

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We’ve already touched on Ken Rosenthal’s Matt Holliday update, but there are other good tidbits in the article as well:

  • "Club officials believe" that the Nationals are "reasonably close to a breakthrough." They blame 2008’s sorry performance on the raft of injuries Washington suffered, which is why they’re willing to spend now for a big bat — the key names floating around have been the aforementioned Holliday, Adam Dunn, and Mark Teixeira, though Rosenthal seems skeptical they could snag any of them. But what about Manny Ramirez? "Jim Bowden, the Nats’ unconventional GM, probably would love the idea, but D.C. might not be big enough for Manny and Barack Obama." Looking at the impact that Manny has had on the LA’s attendance, and looking at the empty seats at Nationals Park, it could make sense.
  • Obligatory Jake Peavy update: Padres discuss keeping the ace, Braves grow impatient. Cubs are still in the mix, while the Dodgers and Yankees are "on the backburner." (Buster Olney had a subtly different take posted a few hours later — that Peavy would be dealt before the turkey hits the sideboard.) Rosenthal also quotes Pads GM Kevin Towers as wanting to move the fences in at Petco (which is hard enough just to write without typing in "cavernous" as an automatic prefix).
  • The Mets, among other ballclubs, are interested in Rays’ righties Andy Sonnanstine and Edwin Jackson, but the Rays are in no hurry to make a deal.
  • "The White Sox are in an ideal position with" Javier Vazquez if they wait until Peavy, CC Sabathia, et al are placed and then shop him, Rosenthal argues. The 32-year old righty will make $23 MM through 2010, which he calls "a bargain for a pitcher who has produced four straight 200-inning seasons, albeit with a 49-51 record and 4.41 ERA." On the other hand, Vazquez has also hit the 200-strikeout mark in each of the last two seasons.

Sarah Green can be reached here.

Olney’s Latest: Peavy, Hoffman, Sabathia

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Buster Olney has a new update on the Padres and a new article about the Giants.

Olney says there’s a growing feeling that Jake Peavy will be dealt “sometime before Thanksgiving.”

Trevor Hoffman hopes to meet with Padres executives soon to discuss the team’s direction. Olney says that the Indians are one of many teams who might be interested in Hoffman if he decides to reject the Padres one year $4MM offer.

Olney writes that the Giants shouldn’t let the Barry Zito signing stop them from going after C.C. Sabathia aggressively this offseason.

McLane: Astros Unlikely To Acquire Peavy

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According to Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle, Astros owner Drayton McLane doesn’t expect his team to trade for Jake Peavy. Not surprisingly, the Padres asked for “three or four” of Houston’s best prospects in return for the ace pitcher.

McLane didn’t reveal which players the Padres were interested in, but said that their asking price was ultimately a “stumbling block.”

The Cubs and Braves are still front-runners in the Peavy sweepstakes.

Odds and Ends: Tazawa, Young, Kouzmanoff

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Links for Friday.  As always, I’ll update this post with more stuff so refresh later if you’re interested.

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