Padres Rumors

ESPN’s Peter Gammons has a new blog post up.

• The Indians are "thoroughly scouting" eight teams that may be interested in C.C. Sabathia, including the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, and Dodgers (the Mets may be another).  Gammons agrees with Ken Rosenthal that Mark Shapiro may trade Sabathia soon to maximize his value.  Gammons does not see the Yanks jumping in with Phil Hughes or a multi-prospect offer, unless Chien-Ming Wang’s injury forces their hand.  He does not think the Cubs or Phillies have the goods, but suggests the Rangers as a dark horse.
• If the Cubs don’t have enough for Sabathia, Plan B could be Randy Wolf, Greg Maddux, or even Erik Bedard. The Padres and Mariners have been informed of the Cubs’ interest.
• Gammons seems to indicate that Mark Teixeira could be available if the Braves fall out of the race (although Tex is not mentioned by name).
• The Dodgers may have been open to trading Brad Penny, but his shoulder injury puts the kibosh on that.
• Adam Dunn’s whifftastic ways scare the Red Sox, who might pass even if David Ortiz needs surgery.  Gammons suggests Josh Willingham would be a better fit.
• Rich Harden could be a huge acquisition, one of the game’s most dominating pitchers.  It’s the same story though – will any team be willing to meet Billy Beane’s asking price given Harden’s injury history?