Jake Peavy can't go to the Dodgers

May 8, 11:22 PMSan Diego Padres ExaminerJudson Green

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the San Diego Padres Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Jake Peavy goes casual during a tough year.

San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Tim Sullivan speculated Thursday about how Manny Ramirez's suspension could free up enough money to make a trade for Padres ace Jake Peavy. There is some logic to it, but ultimately, it can't happen.

The Dodgers may have the material to make a move for Peavy. And the Padres are better off trading him. But they can't send him to Los Angeles. Not their biggest rival, the team up the road that they have to compete with for division supremacy. Okay, probably not this year, but over the long run. How will fans feel about it when they find that the best starting pitcher the Padres have ever had is going to be in a Dodger uniform? They can accept a trade, even though it hurts. The contract is too much for them to handle right now, and Peavy's talent is going to waste on this team. Not the Dodgers, though. It would embitter the fan base, even if it's only for a while. Think attendance is low now? Just wait.

But it's not all about PR. Although they'd take a few blows, they'd survive them. It's also a matter of good returns in the trade. The Dodgers are well aware that the Padres view them as their biggest rivals. They can't be oblivious to the "Beat L.A.!" chants and everything else. If the Padres do strike up trade talks with the Dodgers, it will smack of desperation. It's the "we're out of options" call by management. The Padres struggled enough in the offseason to trade Peavy, because they were so obvious about wanting to unload his contract that teams tried to take advantage of them. The Padres wouldn't budge. If they turn to the Dodgers, it will go beyond that. Without a brilliant, and somewhat lucky strategy, the Padres could end up on the wrong end of a trade as lopsided as the one that brought Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young to San Diego.

The chances of this working are just too improbable. Maybe they're never going to get equivalent value. But the best possible trading partner, of those on Peavy's 'acceptable' list anyway, would be a team that believes it will be in a tough fight to get to the playoffs, but has a good chance of making it. They would probably be willing to give up a little more than the others to get him. I don't know if such a team exists, but they need to look for the closest match. The worst trading partner is the Dodgers.