The Jake Peavy rumors that dominated the winter appear to be making the rounds again. Lee Hamilton reported on his XM Radio show last weekend he heard the Jake Peavy to the Cubs talk was heating back up. Since last weekend not one, not two but three separate reports from the mainstream media mentioned Jake Peavy and the Cubs in the same sentence.
Ken Rosenthal questioned on Wednesday if the Cubs had enough depth in their rotation if Rich Harden missed a significant amount of time. Rosenthal stated the Cubs have internal options such as Mitch Atkins, Jose Ascanio and Jeff Samardzija if Harden was to land on the DL.
Rosenthal said, “Jake Peavy would be the best possible alternative for the Cubs.”
On Tuesday, Buster Olney reported in his blog “it feels like it’s only a matter of time before he winds up in a Cubs’ uniform.” Of course Olney was referring to Jake Peavy and this was just days after Olney brought up his concerns over the health of Rich Harden.
Following the Cubs win over the Astros Wednesday night, Gordon Wittenmyer discussed the options the Cubs have behind Rich Harden and Sean Marshall in the Cubs system. The report in the Sun-Times then stated, “And until Jake Peavy shows up for this team, the Harden spot, Marshall spot and empty spots behind them will be concerns.”
After a great spring in Arizona, not the WBC, Jake Peavy took the loss for the Padres on Opening Day against the Dodgers. Peavy allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits in seven innings with two walks and eight strikeouts.
The Jake Peavy rumors will continue until he is finally traded at some point this season. The sale of the Cubs must be finalized before they could think about adding his contract, so if Peavy is coming, it will be at least a month…if not longer. Various reports have indicated the sale will not be completed until May at the earliest.
Stay Tuned….