Peavy Trade Imminent?

CBS thinks so, and MLB Trade Rumors just picked it up. (Baseball Musings used the same title as me! Cool!) There might be a deal in place to send Yunel, Gorkys, and two pitchers (Morton or JoJo, and a reliever) to the Padres for Jake.

The Braves have been waiting for Kevin Towers to get a move on, and want a deal before free agency kicks off on Friday. Lou Piniella popping his mouth off about the trade probably didn't help the Padres' bargaining position. If anything happens while I'm online, I'll be sure to let you know. In the meantime I need to put together a condolences package for PunkRockPaint.

Peavy's killing me

The Braves are supposedly leading in the Jake Peavy Sweepstakes. They've got a bunch of good prospects to deal and Yunel Escobar for a centerpiece. The Cubs don't have the talent to deal to match the Braves, Peavy doesn't seem interested in going to the AL and the Padres surely wouldn't trade Jake to the division rival Dodgers. So, things are looking good for the Bravos, right? Not so fast.


Barry Axelrod, Peavy's agent, indicated Jake might block the trade to Atlanta if Yunel Escobar is involved in the deal because Yunel is too good and the Braves would then have a hole at shortstop. Do what?? Now, I love Escobar. I think he's a hell of a shortstop and could be the second coming of Furcal with less speed and more power. I also think I'd trade him in a millisecond if I thought we could get a Cy Young caliber ace. Braves beat writer David O'Brien e-mailed Axelrod and got a clarification (or a backpedal, take your pick). So now we're back where we started with the interested teams haggling, the Padres trying to squeeze a bigger prospect out of the deal and Peavy angling for more loot. Thank God. I need some backstabbing, politicing and intrigue to follow now that I don't have election stuff to obsess over.

Who is Junichi Tazawa?

Possibly a future ace for the Braves. The 22 year old Japanese pitcher refused to play in Japan in an attempt to sign with a MLB team. The Red Sox, Cubs and Mariners were said to be interested, but the Braves jumped in and offered him a major league contract. Tazawa is being compared to Tim Hudson with a better curve ball, and reportedly received a multi-year offer that exceeded that of the top players from the 2008 draft. Considering the Braves had no first rounder this year, investing in a 22 year old potential ace seems to be a good idea to me. The Red Sox could still jump in with a bigger contract, but the Braves do have a lot of money to spend this year. I've always wondered why the Braves have completely ignored Japanese imports, it looks like Wren is willing to add some talent from the far east now.

Other Braves news from the Hot Stove League:

The Braves are still the frontrunners to get Jake Peavy. The Braves have a ton of talent in their farm system, it just remains to be seen what Frank is willing to give up.

The Braves might be after Ryan Ludwick as a power bat, or possibly Rick Ankiel. They also have an eye on Ryan Dempster. I love this time of year and it's awfully fun when your team has the money and talent to make some deals.

Optimism

Is a Braves fan choosing to spend his money on a Jake Peavy jersey card on his monthly trip to the flea market.