Peavy Trade Talks Begin
A nugget from Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune:
Kevin Towers said he has heard from clubs interested in trading for ace pitcher Jake Peavy. "We’re having talks," he said. The GM said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Peavy talks heat up next month.
MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan wrote today that Peavy said he will only waive his no-trade clause for a National League team. However, Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod said Friday that three teams in the American League could entice his client. The Yankees could be one; we discussed the possibility here. A possible Peavy trade will be one of the biggest stories at the Winter Meetings in December.
Odds and Ends: Hoyer, Denker, Manny
Links for Monday…
- Baseball America ranks the teams by their total draft expenditures. The Royals spent over $11MM, leading the pack.
- SI’s Tom Verducci talked to one "club pitching expert" who considers free agent Chan Ho Park a sleeper starter for next year.
- MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan figures a long-term extension for Josh Hamilton will be a top priority for the Rangers this winter. Sullivan also has a note about Jake Peavy only wanting to go to an NL team, despite the recent article about Peavy being open to three AL clubs.
- Red Sox assistant GM Jed Hoyer turned down a chance to interview for the Mariners job, according to Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald.
- McCovey Chronicles is baffled by the Giants’ decision to let second baseman Travis Denker go.
- Chad Durbin suggests Manny Ramirez charged in aggressively from left field yesterday for show.
- We took a look at Ryan Dempster from a fantasy baseball perspective a few days ago.
Catcher Michael Barrett Now Free Agent
The San Diego Padres have announced that Michael Barrett has opted for free agency after clearing waivers. As an eleven-year MLB veteran, Barrett has the right to decline being optioned to the minors and has instead decided to hit the open market.
During a 2008 season that saw him hit the DL twice, limiting him to only 107 plate appearances, the 31-year old had a poor .202/.274/.298 line. These numbers are a far cry from what he had done as a Cub between 2004-2006, during which he had an OPS of at least .824. While getting out of San Diego should do him some good, it’s becoming quite clear that Barrett no longer hits well enough to compensate for his defensive deficiencies.
Paul Moro writes for UmpBump.com and can be reached here: Paul *at* umpbump *dot* com.
Would Peavy Play For Yankees?
Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record recently chatted with Jake Peavy‘s agent, Barry Axelrod. Peavy prefers to stay in San Diego, but not if they decide to rebuild. In that case, he’d apparently considering waiving his no-trade clause for three unknown American League teams (his National League number is not known). Axelrod spoke in generalities about the appeal of pinstripes, which could be seen as an indication Peavy might be willing to play for the Yankees.
Peavy would need some kind of extra compensation to approve any trade. Caldera speculates that guaranteeing the pitcher’s 2013 option might satisfy him. That’d put him under contract for $81MM over five years – still a market discount. A.J. Burnett might be seeking that kind of contract.
Acquiring Peavy could be the next best thing to signing C.C. Sabathia. Tough to say how Peavy would fare at the new Yankee Stadium – his home/road splits were pronounced in ’08, ’06, and ’03. It’s hard to see the Padres trading Peavy to the Yankees without Phil Hughes being involved. Kevin Towers has been Brian Cashman’s most frequent trading partner – they’ve matched up on nine deals (but none since ’05).
Odds and Ends: Beltran, Brewers, Padres
Links for Friday…
- The Padres claimed second baseman Travis Denker off waivers from the Giants. Surprising to see the Giants let him go.
- Ted Berg at MetsBlog explains how a Carlos Beltran rumbling spun out of control.
- I recently did a Brewers Q&A with Bernie’s Crew.
- The Padres called yesterday’s report about John Moores selling his share of the team "highly speculative." Tim Sullivan considers the statement revealing, and notes that this is a bad time to sell.
- Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times chatted with Scott Boras.
- Mark Cuban mentions that the struggling economy is slowing down the sale of the Cubs.
- Terry Pluto believes the Indians should pursue Brian Roberts.
- David Brown at Yahoo profiles Theo Epstein and Andrew Friedman.
- Freddy Garcia is headed to winter ball. The Tigers will have the first crack at signing him. Andruw Jones will also play winter ball; he seems to want a trade if he’s not a starter next year.
- Elbow surgery for Tom Gordon, which probably means the Phillies will buy out his ’09 option for $1MM.
Odds and Ends: Moore, Manny, Hudson
Reading material for Thursday…
- NBC San Diego reports that John Moores plans to sell his 49% of the Padres as part of his divorce settlement.
- Derrick Goold looks at the many teams that might consider Rafael Furcal, including the Cardinals. Imagine the kind of contract he’d be looking at if he’d been healthy all year.
- I did a Q&A with Sox and Pinstripes recently.
- According to Mariners president Chuck Armstrong, the new GM will have less power and a smaller payroll than Bill Bavasi. The list of candidates is down to ten.
- MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel talked to Royals GM Dayton Moore, who wants to add an offensive player (a hitter, not a guy who offends). Moore won’t be moving Joakim Soria to the rotation, though some in the organization support it. Also, MLB Interviews chatted Royals with Joe Posnanski of the Kansas City Star.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post sees a parallel between Mike Mussina and Jimmy Key. Some Yankees officials expect Mussina to file for free agency to keep his options open.
- In another article, Sherman warns suitors that Manny Ramirez is a "con man."
- ESPN’s Buster Olney runs through possible destinations for Orlando Hudson, including the Mets, White Sox, Indians, and Angels.
- Anthony Marenna of DC Metroblog provides an offseason plan for the Nationals, while Jacob Jackson takes on the A’s at Athletics Nation.
Braves May Consider Peavy
David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote about the possibility of the Braves pursuing Padres ace Jake Peavy this winter in a blog post yesterday. He notes that Peavy, an Alabama native, might be particularly amenable to waiving his no-trade clause to play for Atlanta.
Personally I do not see Peavy’s no-trade clause as an obstacle for most clubs. In the majority of cases, the player accepts compensation and waives the no-trade power.
Peavy is a 27 year-old relatively healthy ace who is under contract for four years at a below-market price. I would look to the recent trades of Erik Bedard (two years), Dan Haren (three years), and C.C. Sabathia (three months) as precedents. All of these trades were built around a top-25 prospect (Adam Jones, Carlos Gonzalez, and Matt LaPorta). Given that information, I would be quite surprised to see the Braves acquire Peavy without surrending Jason Heyward or Tommy Hanson. If you’re Kevin Towers, why wouldn’t you insist on that caliber of player? Towers can easily wait until July or the ’09 winter meetings.
I will grant that Johan Santana (one year) and Rich Harden (one year and two months) were acquired for less than most people expected. But with Santana, the requirement of a $137.5MM extension limited the field. And, it may be true that Jon Lester and Phil Hughes were offered at various points. With Harden, you had the ever-present injury risk and a quality player in Chad Gaudin joining the Cubs.
In addition to the Braves, the Red Sox, Rockies, Rays, and Rangers would have the prospects to make a Peavy trade. The Yankees will probably be in the mix, though it’s hard to see a deal without Hughes. The White Sox, Tigers, Angels, Mets, Phillies, Brewers, Astros, and Dodgers are other teams that will be searching for pitching this winter. Many top prospects and young players are deemed "untouchable," but an ace like Peavy may cause teams to reconsider.
Bard, Estes Become Free Agents
According to MLB.com’s Corey Brock, catcher Josh Bard and pitcher Shawn Estes have elected free agency and cleared waivers. Both players were expected to join the free agent class, though perhaps not this early.
Bard is interesting – he will be 31 in March, and was injured for much of ’08. In ’07 he hit pretty well away from PETCO.
Additionally, pitcher Dirk Hayhurst was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays. Hayhurst’s claim to fame is writing a "non-prospect diary" for Baseball America.
Yankees Eyeing Peavy?
There’s a lot being made of the Yankees signing CC Sabathia, but as Ken Davidoff of Newsday.com asks, "Whom would you rather have? CC Sabathia for six years and $150 million? Or Jake Peavy for four years and $63 million?" Buster Olney reported on this possibility recently. Davidoff reports:
"Peavy’s agent, Barry Axelrod, who lives in the San Diego area and is very friendly with Towers, said: "My guess is, unless somebody knocks their socks off this offseason, I don’t expect that Jake will be moved. I would think that starting the middle of next year and into the next offseason, there could be a significant possibility of Jake being moved" because of Peavy’s significant raise from 2009 to 2010."
Peavy would need to approve a trade and it’s not sure thing he’d want to go to New York. On whether, Peavy is seeking a trade at all, Davidoff quotes Peavy:
"’I want to be here, but I want to be here with a chance to win a World Series. If someone says, ‘Hey, we’re going to rebuild, that’s not going to be our top priority,’ you certainly would wonder what your other options are.’"
Olney’s Latest: Sabathia, Ellis, Embree, Giles
Buster Olney brings the rumors:
- If the Yankees want CC Sabathia, they will not lose in any bidding war now that a new ballpark puts them in the position to "throw unlimited dollars" at CC. Unless CC wants to play in the NL, or avoid the media circus of New York City, Olney seems convinced the Yankees will land him.
- The A’s have begun contract negotiations with Mark Ellis. No details yet.
- Before the trade deadline, no teams expressed interest in Alan Embree and his $2.25MM salary. This could indicate that the A’s will not pick up his $3MM option. The 38 year old lefthander struggled with a 4.96 ERA this season.
- The Padres are going to pick up Brian Giles $9MM option at the deadline, shortly after the World Series, rather than buy him out for $3MM. This was expected.