Happy Thanksgiving from the CCO…. The next twenty-four hours figure to be rather quiet throughout baseball but as the weekend comes to a close teams should start preparing for a busy start of the last month of the year. For the Cubs not only is Monday the deadline to offer arbitration to Kerry Wood and Bobby Howry but it is also the last day for prospective buyers to submit their bids to purchase the team. The Winter Meetings kick off a week from Monday on the same day Ron Santo will find out if the Veteran’s Committee has finally voted him into the Hall of Fame. So to say the next two weeks should be rather fun to follow would be an understatement.
The Cubs have been front and center for the last month on one of the biggest names on the block this winter, Jake Peavy. And while several reports over the past few days have suggested the Cubs are out of the Jake Peavy sweepstakes, according to reports on Wednesday, the Cubs are still interested in Jake Peavy ….as well as Brian Giles? Here’s the latest on Turkey Day….
Updated – 9:01am C.T. – A Third Team Might Have Been Found? Jake Peavy
The first line in a report from Barry Rozner in the Daily Herald stated, “don’t believe for a moment that the Cubs are out of the Jake Peavy derby.” According to Rozner’s report on Wednesday morning, not only are the Cubs still in the Peavy sweepstakes but “have become the leaders in the Peavy chase, mostly because Chicago is his first choice and the Cubs might be the Padres’ only option.”
Rozner pointed out that Jim Hendry needs “to move some payroll” and mentioned the name Jason Marquis. Rozner also stated the Cubs need to add the left-handed bat Lou Piniella wants in order to balance out the lineup. Jim Hendry “might also need help from the future or current owners.”
Bruce Levine mentioned last weekend that the talks between Jim Hendry and Kevin Towers were tabled and Levine said at the time for 10 days. Reports have suggested a similar timeframe over the past few days and they all seem to center around the December 1st deadline for bids to be submitted to buy the team.
When asked about Jake Peavy, Kevin Towers told the San Diego Union-Tribune on Tuesday night that there was nothing new to report and “the only talks we’ve has is with the Cubs and I’m not expecting to hear anything until after the weekend.”
Towers said there is not another team in the mix for Peavy right now.
Rozner ended his report with the following:
“So don’t be fooled by the talk that the Cubs are done with Jake Peavy. Not only are they still interested, but they may also be the Padres’ only chance….and Peavy’s only choice.”
Brian Giles
According to Bruce Levine, Brian Giles turned down a trade to the Cubs last year at the trading deadline but Barry Rozner reported, “the Cubs could kill two birds with one stone.” Rozner suggested a deal with the Padres that would include Jason Marquis and a trade that involved Giles and Marquis would be equal financially. The Padres just picked up Giles’ $9 million dollar option for 2009 while Marquis is scheduled to make $9.875 million next season.
Rozner threw out players such as Sean Marshall, Ronny Cedeno, Josh Vitters, Felix Pie, Mike Fontenot and Jose Ascanio that could be used in a trade with the Padres for both Jake Peavy and Brian Giles.
Mark Teahen
According to a report in the Kansas City Star, Mark Teahen is “on the Cubs’ radar” but is not viewed “as a solution to their search for a left-handed power bat.” The Star pointed out that would make Teahen a fallback option for the Cubs.
Rafael Furcal
The free agent shortstop met with the A’s and looked at homes in the area according to a report from Ken Rosenthal….and multiple reports Wednesday night on XM Radio stated that Paul Kinzer has told the media that he and Rafael Furcal will narrow the list of teams interested in Furcal down to two on Monday or Tuesday.
Well, that’s the latest….and I’m sticking to it!
Update – Hat tip to Gary J for the link…. According to a report from Tim Brown at Yahoo Sports, the Padres and Cubs “might have identified a third team” that would net the Cubs Jake Peavy. According to the report, Kevin Towers said he would talk to Jim Hendry after the holiday weekend.
Stay tuned….