Peavy Rejects Sox Offer; Deal Now Dead

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

I think the point he was making was Jake Peavy couldn't care less about the guys in AA. If the plan was to bring them all up next year or the year after, chances are the team will struggle. Rookies struggle. If I were Peavy and if they tried to sell me on the AA guys, I'd be thinking their up in the majors in 2010 and/or 2011. It takes them a season or so to get their feet wet. If all goes well, they become solid championship-type contributors in 2012/2013. What's up until then? All this money coming off the books? How will that be spent? Will it be spent? Does my salary count towards spending it? What if the current crop of youngsters on the big league club continue to struggle? How long do you stick with them? Can you bring in someone better if they can't do the job. Can you do a little better than Dewayne Wise?

 

We have a bunch of talent at AA isn't going to make Peavy hop on a plane.

It goes both ways. Let's say the Sox spent about an extra $20M this offseason and ran out this team:

 

CF Taveras

2B Hudson

LF Quentin

RF Dye

DH Thome

1B Konerko

C Pierzynski

3B Crede

SS Ramirez

 

Bench: Betemit UT, Anderson CF, Blanco C, Nix/Getz UT

 

Rotation: Buehlre-Garland-Danks-Floyd-Contreras

 

Bullpen: Jenks-Thornton-Linebrink-Dotel-Cruz-Richard-Carrasco

 

What does that look like? A better 2009 team sure, but it's an aged veteran team of a bunch of guys who should be beginning their declines. Why would a young pitcher want to be apart of something that may soon resemble the Bonds-era SF Giants?

 

I don't care what anyone says, the farm system is important to everyone. The better the system, the better chance of good players coming up to help or good players being used to acquire even better MLB players. The fact that the Sox have improved their farm system and that Kenny was willing to acquire Peavy with pieces from it should send the message right away that 1) the team on the field now is not the same team that is going to be out there through 2013, and 2) the Sox want to win and aren't afraid to acquire an impact player in order to do so.

[EvilJester99]

do the cubs have what it takes to get peavy? all i know is that they have vitters...

The Cubs won't and really can't get Peavy no matter how much the media wants them to.

[Princess Dye]

 

If a team is great in the present, a 27 yr old top flight starter would want to go to there.

 

If a team is a question mark in the present, perhaps an excellent farm system would really sway the player....but anything less than a top notch farm would be kind of secondary. We're excited about Flowers and Allen here, but really there's a huge range of possibilities for guys like that.

 

It's not a safe enough bet to make for what is potentially your final destination (at least in peak years).

Edited May 22, 2009 by Princess Dye

[SoxFan562004]

do the cubs have what it takes to get peavy? all i know is that they have vitters...

No, if they did they would have had him last year and I don't think they had any mega prospects pop up. Also, until the sale is completed they can't add "one dime" in payroll as Levine describes it, and then it's still a huge question what the new owners can do with payroll

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

do the cubs have what it takes to get peavy? all i know is that they have vitters...

Yes, because Peavy has the power to decline everything and force the Pads to make a deal they do not want to make.

 

Peavy can sit around and be happy losing while waiting for the Cubs to finalize the sale, draw up their plans, and clear salary. If Peavy says, "I'm only going to the Cubs unless other teams do this and this and this..." and rattles off a laundry list of impossible demands, then the Pads could be forced to trade him for basically non-prospects and salary relief if it came to it. It could be another Kenny Lofton + Aramis Ramirez for Bobby Hill scenario as long as Peavy doesn't mind losing for another year plus, and by the looks of it, he doesn't care about winning at all.

[Melissa1334]

The Cubs won't and really can't get Peavy no matter how much the media wants them to.

i believe it when guys like bruce say the cubs dont have a dime to get peavy. do they have money? sure but theyre at their max with their payroll. they dont want to increase it. if anything, a mil or 2, but not 10+

the media loves to say the cubs can get him just bcuz peavy wants to go there but they dont realize this.

[SoxFan562004]

i believe it when guys like bruce say the cubs dont have a dime to get peavy. do they have money? sure but theyre at their max with their payroll. they dont want to increase it. if anything, a mil or 2, but not 10+

the media loves to say the cubs can get him just bcuz peavy wants to go there but they dont realize this.

They can't even think about getting DeRosa back at this point, but that's alot less than Peavy would be.

 

KHP... there's no clear sign on how the new owners are going to be able to handle payroll... Ricketts isn't flush with cash at this point. Also, you can't just say "clear salary" the Cubs have alot of bad contracts that will be on the books for a few years, they put themselves in a bad position with some contracts and the economic downturn made it worse.

[Dick Allen]

It goes both ways. Let's say the Sox spent about an extra $20M this offseason and ran out this team:

 

CF Taveras

2B Hudson

LF Quentin

RF Dye

DH Thome

1B Konerko

C Pierzynski

3B Crede

SS Ramirez

 

Bench: Betemit UT, Anderson CF, Blanco C, Nix/Getz UT

 

Rotation: Buehlre-Garland-Danks-Floyd-Contreras

 

Bullpen: Jenks-Thornton-Linebrink-Dotel-Cruz-Richard-Carrasco

 

What does that look like? A better 2009 team sure, but it's an aged veteran team of a bunch of guys who should be beginning their declines. Why would a young pitcher want to be apart of something that may soon resemble the Bonds-era SF Giants?

 

I don't care what anyone says, the farm system is important to everyone. The better the system, the better chance of good players coming up to help or good players being used to acquire even better MLB players. The fact that the Sox have improved their farm system and that Kenny was willing to acquire Peavy with pieces from it should send the message right away that 1) the team on the field now is not the same team that is going to be out there through 2013, and 2) the Sox want to win and aren't afraid to acquire an impact player in order to do so.

I'm happy they have some players that look like they can play in the minors as well. For a team that operates on a tight budget, its very important. I just don't think AA guys who are at least a year away have one ounce of influence in Jake Peavy's decision in a positive way. KW can say they are the greatest prospects in baseball. He can say the Sox will let Thome and Dye go, but Viciedo and Allen will more than cover the loss of offense. He can say Gordon Beckham is the greatest prospect in the world and we will find a spot for him, and he could be 100% correct, but veteran players trust veteran players. Even if Allen had a 95% chance of outproducing Thome in 2010, I don't think a guy like Peavy would believe it.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

They can't even think about getting DeRosa back at this point, but that's alot less than Peavy would be.

 

KHP... there's no clear sign on how the new owners are going to be able to handle payroll... Ricketts isn't flush with cash at this point. Also, you can't just say "clear salary" the Cubs have alot of bad contracts that will be on the books for a few years, they put themselves in a bad position with some contracts and the economic downturn made it worse.

I agree, but in theory, Peavy can sit around and wait for that to happen. If it doesn't happen, then he just can sit around and lose and veto trades until he hits FA/blows his elbow out.

 

The Cubs made a bunch of dumb signings, with Soriano being by far the worst. Those are going to haunt them for a long time. Still, Peavy doesn't seem very rational when it comes to accepting trades - that is unless you don't believe what he says and think he's full of s***.

 

My take is that he's a selfish player who is more worried about his numbers than anything else. He wants to stay in the NL for that reason. He's already thinking about his next contract. His family is in SD, so he's happy losing with his family there. He's in a nice little comfort zone where the local media doesn't bother him much, there's really no pressure on him because of his team, he's in the easiest park in the easiest league, the weather is great, his numbers are great, his family is perfectly happy. He's in his own little bubble and he's perfectly content there. Every now and then he's forced to make up some garbage about caring about the Padres and wanting to win, but he really doesn't care about any of that. He just wants to continue on in his happy little bubble. Well f*** him and his bubble.

[Dick Allen]

Yes, because Peavy has the power to decline everything and force the Pads to make a deal they do not want to make.

 

Peavy can sit around and be happy losing while waiting for the Cubs to finalize the sale, draw up their plans, and clear salary. If Peavy says, "I'm only going to the Cubs unless other teams do this and this and this..." and rattles off a laundry list of impossible demands, then the Pads could be forced to trade him for basically non-prospects and salary relief if it came to it. It could be another Kenny Lofton + Aramis Ramirez for Bobby Hill scenario as long as Peavy doesn't mind losing for another year plus, and by the looks of it, he doesn't care about winning at all.

I don't know about not caring about winning. Let's face it, right now SD has a better record than the White Sox, but everything else you said I agree with. SD gave him the NTC. Moorad didn't have to buy the team. Its all on the Padres. What the White Sox offered is probably the best they will get, and if SD is so desperate to dump his salary, they probably will trade him for next to nothing, although I think his no trade protection decreases a little next season, but he could just refuse trades to teams except the Cubs who could afford his salary.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

I'm happy they have some players that look like they can play in the minors as well. For a team that operates on a tight budget, its very important. I just don't think AA guys who are at least a year away have one ounce of influence in Jake Peavy's decision in a positive way. KW can say they are the greatest prospects in baseball. He can say the Sox will let Thome and Dye go, but Viciedo and Allen will more than cover the loss of offense. He can say Gordon Beckham is the greatest prospect in the world and we will find a spot for him, and he could be 100% correct, but veteran players trust veteran players. Even if Allen had a 95% chance of outproducing Thome in 2010, I don't think a guy like Peavy would believe it.

Maybe, maybe not, but either way he knows that 1) the young players coming up aren't scrubs, and 2) there is trade value there and the GM is willing to deal for young established star players. Those are two huge positives.

 

When you think about the future of the team, you can only think about three things: veteran players currently under contract through a given year, a rough estimate of future payroll flexibility, and strength of the farm system. Luckily for the Sox, the veterans they have under contract beyond 2009 are actually good players, plus there is a lot of payroll flexibility, and since the Sox are probably in the upper half in terms of farm systems, the farm is now a strength as opposed to a weakness. So in those areas the Sox should check out pretty well.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

I don't know about not caring about winning. Let's face it, right now SD has a better record than the White Sox, but everything else you said I agree with. SD gave him the NTC. Moorad didn't have to buy the team. Its all on the Padres. What the White Sox offered is probably the best they will get, and if SD is so desperate to dump his salary, they probably will trade him for next to nothing, although I think his no trade protection decreases a little next season, but he could just refuse trades to teams except the Cubs who could afford his salary.

I believe his NTC is 14 clubs... hmm, there are 14 AL teams, coincidence?

 

I believe he doesn't care about winning because he has to be about the only player in a baseball who would 1) veto an already completed trade to go to the AL Central team that won it's division the previous year and is despite their record still a contender this year, 2) deny the possibility of a trade to the best overall team in the AL West for the last several years, a team which has also won it's last division, 3) not consider the possibility of a trade to the two biggest powerhouses and perennial contenders in baseball, the Yanks and Red Sox.

 

If you deny a trade to 4 teams that have all made the playoffs multiple times since you've been a Padre, and 3 of those teams won their divisions last year, and 3 of them have World titles since 2002, and each of those 4 teams generally top their divisions in payroll, and you do all of this in order to stay on a horrible NL team in a pitcher's park, then winning probably isn't the motivation here.

 

I've been calling Jake Peavy Jake the p**** since early this offseason. When you deny trades to great AL teams in order to continue to pad your stats for a team that sucks, then you yourself suck, and you are indeed a p****.

 

Edit: If Jake Peavy came out tomorrow and he said he liked the futures of the Red Sox and Yankees better than the future of the White Sox, and that was why he refused the trade, then I would grumble, but I wouldn't call him names because it would be very, very hard to disagree with his thought process. However, like I said before, he'd rather play for the Astros than the Sox, Angels, Red Sox, or Yankees. That's f***ing lame.

Edited May 22, 2009 by Kenny Hates Prospects

[WCSox]

I believe his NTC is 14 clubs... hmm, there are 14 AL teams, coincidence?

 

I believe he doesn't care about winning because he has to be about the only player in a baseball who would 1) veto an already completed trade to go to the AL Central team that won it's division the previous year and is despite their record still a contender this year, 2) deny the possibility of a trade to the best overall team in the AL West for the last several years, a team which has also won it's last division, 3) not consider the possibility of a trade to the two biggest powerhouses and perennial contenders in baseball, the Yanks and Red Sox.

 

If you deny a trade to 4 teams that have all made the playoffs multiple times since you've been a Padre, and 3 of those teams won their divisions last year, and 3 of them have World titles since 2002, and each of those 4 teams generally top their divisions in payroll, and you do all of this in order to stay on a horrible NL team in a pitcher's park, then winning probably isn't the motivation here.

 

I agree with this. If what we're hearing about Peavy wanting that $22 million option guaranteed and perennial out clauses in a deal with the Sox, STRONGLY preferring an NL team, and rejecting trades to the Red Sox, Yankees, and Angels, then he indeed does seem to care a lot more about his stats and paycheck than winning. And that's pretty sad.

 

[southsider2k5]

So the pregame interview with Kenny was pretty clear that they are probably negotiating still... He was very eager to say that Peavy was surprised that the Sox offer came along, and that it was so early in the year. His big concern was family negotations according to KW. It was all very nice, and kissing his butt essentially.

 

He said they are still open to the deal, but that they were NOT waiting on it, and that they could still do a different deal if it came along.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

I agree with this. If what we're hearing about Peavy wanting that $22 million option guaranteed and perennial out clauses in a deal with the Sox, STRONGLY preferring an NL team, and rejecting trades to the Red Sox, Yankees, and Angels, then he indeed does seem to care a lot more about his stats and paycheck than winning. And that's pretty sad.

Even Javy Vazquez waived his NTC to come, and he extended with us here. He also signed his first big deal with the Yankees and I'm sure would have accepted a deal to Boston. He didn't want to go the Angels because of distance from his family, but you could in no way say Javy didn't want to it. He was a guy who would have mental lapses and insist on throwing his #3 and #4 pitches in situations where he should've trusted his best stuff, but at least he wanted to win.

 

I'd still love Peavy's arm in our rotation, but the fact that Javy Vazquez is more confident in himself than Jake Peavy is - well that's pretty scary.

 

The only reason I got excited about this deal is because usually pitchers with his stuff and his track record do not become available at his age. It would be a big gamble, but I think the hope would be that he'd sack up and believe in himself, and believe that he could pitch just as well in a tougher stadium in a tougher league. I just don't understand how someone can win a Cy Young in any league and in any park without being the type of person that seeks out new challenges and rises to the occaision. Peavy really seems to be an enigma.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

So the pregame interview with Kenny was pretty clear that they are probably negotiating still... He was very eager to say that Peavy was surprised that the Sox offer came along, and that it was so early in the year. His big concern was family negotations according to KW. It was all very nice, and kissing his butt essentially.

 

He said they are still open to the deal, but that they were NOT waiting on it, and that they could still do a different deal if it came along.

Did he talk about the option at all, or the opt-out clauses?

[WCSox]

Even Javy Vazquez waived his NTC to come, and he extended with us here. He also signed his first big deal with the Yankees and I'm sure would have accepted a deal to Boston. He didn't want to go the Angels because of distance from his family, but you could in no way say Javy didn't want to it. He was a guy who would have mental lapses and insist on throwing his #3 and #4 pitches in situations where he should've trusted his best stuff, but at least he wanted to win.

 

I'd still love Peavy's arm in our rotation, but the fact that Javy Vazquez is more confident in himself than Jake Peavy is - well that's pretty scary.

 

The only reason I got excited about this deal is because usually pitchers with his stuff and his track record do not become available at his age. It would be a big gamble, but I think the hope would be that he'd sack up and believe in himself, and believe that he could pitch just as well in a tougher stadium in a tougher league. I just don't understand how someone can win a Cy Young in any league and in any park without being the type of person that seeks out new challenges and rises to the occaision. Peavy really seems to be an enigma.

 

I can understand him pushing the envelope with the guaranteed option year and the out clauses. That's just business. But being THAT hesitant to pitch in the American League makes me seriously question his testitcular fortitude.

 

[southsider2k5]

Did he talk about the option at all, or the opt-out clauses?

 

No, not at all.

[ThunderBolt]

More from KW about the Peavy trade and just being a badass GM in general:

http://scottmerkin.mlblogs.com/archives/20..._unplugged.html

Edited May 23, 2009 by Thunderbolt

[Disco72]

More from KW about the Peavy trade and just being a badass GM in general:

http://scottmerkin.mlblogs.com/archives/20..._unplugged.html

 

The link didn't work for me... here's the full link: http://scottmerkin.mlblogs.com/archives/20..._unplugged.html

[caulfield12]

“I was humbled by the Chicago White Sox and their interest in me,” said Peavy, who refuted a teammate's speculation that he had reservations about White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. “It's certainly not an easy thing to do, especially when an organization has as much pride and commitment to winning as the Chicago White Sox. We told 'em we're not closing the door to anything.”

 

Asked if he might tell the Padres that he's not willing to be traded, Peavy said he'd rather keep his options open. “I want to do what's right and fair for everybody's best interest,” he said.

 

San Diego Union Tribune

 

He's just simply going to wait until July 31st when one of those larger marker teams in the playoff hunt in the NL can guarantee his $22 million. Simple as that. No matter what the PR and spin doctors from both sides add to the conversation.

[ThunderBolt]

Peavy hasn’t closed the door on the White Sox

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/baseball...ry/1062238.html

Offer is still on the table.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,1864100.story

 

[BearSox]

Even though I hate him... I still want him!

[whtsoxfan]

Details of Peavy's secret meeting with Reinsdorf at Phone Company Field leaked.

 

Jerry Reinsdorf: Welcome to Chicago. It is very nice to meet you. Please have a seat.

 

Jake Peavy: Thank you Mr. Reinsdorf.

 

Usher: Sir, may I see your ticket?

 

Jake: What?

 

Jerry: We are in the suites section of the ball park. These seats go for $200 each but since the taxpayers of Chicago paid for them several times over, I will eat the cost of your seat.

 

Jake: Whatever.

 

Jerry: Would you like something to drink? Pop, a beer?

 

Jake: Sure. a beer would be nice after that long red-eye flight in.

 

(Vendor arrives): That will be $7 sir.

 

Jake: What!?

 

Jerry: Unlike the seats, the beer cost me $0.43 wholesale. I cannot comp the beer.

 

Jake hands over a $10

 

Jerry: Now, I have read the details of your contract.

 

Jake: Yes. I took a hometown discount with an option year at the end. As I have discussed with Kenny, I will accept the trade if you guarantee the final year of the contract. I really like Chicago and your club has a good chance of winning the World Series, something I am very interested in contributing to.

 

Jerry: I see. Well, I actually wanted to discuss altering your contract to lower the guaranteed money and stretch out payments on the remaining portion through 2083, two years before Julio Cruz' contract ends.

 

Jake: Dude, I'm out of here.

 

Jerry: Not until you have paid for your seat (summons security)....

[chw42]

I think the Padres just started licking their chops when they saw what Clayton did tonight. The Pirates is what the Padres usually face in the NL anyhow.