Braves no longer actively pursuing Peavy

I think the deal is still going to be made, but now San Diego is oging to have to go crawling back to them and offer Peavy at a discount. I think the Braves know exactly what they're doing. After all, with the limited cities Peavy is willing to go to, who else has a better package to offer?

Looks like Towers really blew it this time. Oh well, on with the show...

O.K., there are other pitchers out there & its probably time to move on.

I'd live to see Wren pursue Zack Grienke who put up Jair Jurjens type of numbers this past season. He's only 25 going on 26 in '09 and to my knowledge has stayed healthy. He did have some early struggles but has turned out good.

Wren is going to have to give up something to get something. A package of Escobar, Hernandez, and choice of Boyer, Reyes or Morton is not going to get it done. I don't blame the Padres for turning Wren's alleged offer down.

You're not going to get a better one-team offer than the package Atlanta proposed. I don't know why Towers played the "Peavy is Gone" card so early and now is acting like he doesn't have to trade him if he doesn't want to. Mixed signals, sir.

The Yankees don't have the farm system to offer close to what anyone else can.

atta baby, wren... take a stand!
towers will be sorry he wasnt more proactive bc now hes stuck dealing with a team that doesnt have what the braves have to give him. peavy is going to demand one team.. and the owners are going to make him drop the payroll no matter what... i dont envy bein in towers shoes' right now

WAY too much for Peavy. a starting shortstop (AllStar?), high potential centerfielder, and realisticly a pitcher of some question. Towers already said that Peavy will not be going back to the Pads. Best sales technique is to be able to walk away from an initial deal unless its too good to be true.

I think it will get done still as well. This is all just part of the game. Peavy will be in Atlanta next year. Towers will be chasing the Braves bus when he checks his voicemail today. Unless Chicago can include a third party with a deal there is nowhere for Peavy to go and nobody who can put up as much as the Braves are. The Padres are just testing Atlanta's desperation level and they just found it. It might end up costing them one of the players in the initial deal. I hope so anyway.

Tenacious dinme, you are right that the Yankees don't have our farm system right now. But, Wren is holding the line at NOT offering the farm system up for Peavy. Hansen, Flowers and Heyward are going no where and you can't blame Wren.

But, if I am a GM contacting teams about a first rate pitcher who is only 27, I certainly want no part of Reyes, Morton or Boyer. To me, Yunel was the only thing of real value that was offered.

To everyone, do you really think that Reyes, Boyer and Morton have any real attraction to other teams right now?

yeah- no great loss -escobar is one of the best players on the team - i was worried about peavy breaking down - these pitchers are fragile- it's basically just a matter of time - find some young guns ala the marlins and go with them

Good job Wren. Towers will come crying back desperately to get the same deal in a few days. Just focus on the Free Agent Pitching right now.
http://darion.mlblogs.com/

hey terrible i think reyes has alot of attraction to some teams.. Yeah he struggled this year but he is what 23 or 24 and left handed.. he still has time to develope into a solid ml pitcher maybe eventually a number 3 starter and hernandez is a stud centerfielder who could be really special when his time comes

I think Cashman should jump on this and make a trade offer (Hughes, Kennedy, Cabrera or Austin Jackson) to San Diego. I think getting Peavy makes more sense than giving CC 150 mil over six years.

Excellent job, Frank Wren. Don't EVER give up an a starting all star caliber shortstop PLUS other top level prospects for a pitcher who is very likely to spend more time ON the DL than off of it.

The Badres will either keep Peavy or be forced to trade him at WAY below market value now. Good job, Kevin Towers - you just proved that you are a complete idiot in turning down the offer from the Braves.

i think we dont need to worry about peavy that much build around are young talent with some vets like dempster, burnett, lowe .

Great Job Wren. When Towers comes back crawling frop the amount you will offer, if Towers wants to play games you can play as well. Would like to have Peavy but not at some rediculs price. Gorkys our Future CF,m possible another comming of Andew Joes, but more coachable than Andrew

Are you people are all crazy.. the padres are not just going to give peavy away. The package the Braves offered was a joke. The Padres have to be blown away by a trade proposal to get rid of peavy. Peavy will be a padre next season.

YESSSSSSS!!!! Im so Happy!!

What people fail to realize is that the Braves team is not that Bad, not great yet, but they arent that bad. Like I said before the Braves had the most injuries than any team in baseball yes even more than the blown out of porpotion Cardinals. the braves had 3-4 more players on the DL at all times than the cardinals except for late June they had only 2more than the cardinals at this time.

The point is that they couldnt help the injuries. They need only to replace the absence of Hudson and find a descent outfielder Juan Rivera, and the Braves would be highly competitive again this year.

I wouldnt sleep on them...

But GO Yankees!!!

great move wren towers has to trade peavy inless he wants a financial breakdown so soon he will come back and offer atlanta a deal for peavy

This is GREAT news.... I feel the Braves can fill any pitching requirements through free agency without depleting the future. The farm is deep with quality arms, lets see what spring training brings to the surface. It's time for the players to step up. I feel Peavy is good but not worth the package of players that were reportedly offered. Smart move by the Braves GM.

Wait the Braves had all theses injuries last year 4 of there 5 opening day rotation went down. and yet they still only lost 90 games in a much tougher division.

but the Padres lost 99 games, Peavy had a losing RECORD, and they were the weakest division in the NL. Braves had crazy injuries whats the Padres excuse?

Do you Braves fans really think that package was so strong.. a shortstop hitting .under 285 and a few prospects... Peavy is a cy young pitcher

Peavy is good, but he's not worth this much from the Braves.

www.diamond-theory.com

I realize the Braves do not like to trade away young talent and prospects for big time, pricey players. Their farm system has been a huge part of their perennial success, but the Braves have been severely struggling the past few years. One of the main causes of their struggles has been starting pitching. I think it's time for the Braves to go against their usual philosophy and sacrifice young talent to get a great return in Jake Peavy. A dominant starter might be one of the missing links to getting the Braves back to the playoffs and potentially the World Series.

Im trying to tell you the Braves could've won it all last year if it hadnt been for the injuries and Francour's fall from grace.

Wren realized this and said nevermind to the Peavy deal.
Braves only need two starting pitchers from the FA market and a descent outfielder. why create more holes when you have the money to fulfill the needs.

The Braves didnt even make the playoffs

Just as Wren said, the Braves need to move on and see what free-agent pitching they can get. Free agents only cost salary, not salary and talent like Peavy, and in any event they need at least one free-agent to shore up their staff next year, even if they come back to Peavy later.
Peavy is a very good pitcher but he benefits from playing half of his games in an extreme pitcher's park. In 2008 his ERA at home was 1.74, on the road, 4.28. His career ERA in Turner field (for only 2 games) is 4.38. Career October (postseason) ERA is 5.84.

Good Job Frank Wren! Good job standing up with your top prospects and not trading them away. I think Hanson will be ready sometime next year and we can now focus on acquiring a outfeilder via trade. I like A.J. Burnett and Dempster and if we are desperate go for Sheets or Hampton. Go out there and get a good outfeilder to put in between chipper and B Mac.

EscuseMe, Yunel Escobar has a lifetime batting average of .302 and a lifetime OBP of .372. His arm and overall defense is one of the best in baseball. It is rare to find a shortstop who can hit AND play well above average defense. He is irreplaceable for the Braves which is probably one of the reasons the offer was pulled. And he will probably only get better since he has only played ONE full season in major league baseball. Gorkys Hernandez is one of the top outfield prospects in all of baseball - he hits for average, plays A++ defense, and has blazing speed. Charlie Morton is a very good young pitcher who did fairly well last year in his rookie year. In my opinion, all of that plus another prospect is too much to give up for a pitcher who has spent a LOT of time on the disabled list and rarely pitches into the 7th inning.

Great point!! cp5249

The Braves have the potential to have a great bullpen next year, but they need workhorse starting pitchers to keep the load off. I know Mark Bowman doesn't seem to think much of Leo Mazzone, at least at the end of his tenure with the Braves, but he seemed to resurrect quite a few careers as well as have one of the healthiest rotations for many years... it could be coincidence but I doubt it.

Why oh why did the Braves trade Jason Schmidt years ago? oh well.

Peavy would be a great add, there are a lot of teams chasing relatively few quality FA pitchers so they will all nail bigger, longer contracts than the Braves really want to sign up for relative to Peavy. Burnett is great but fragile, Derek Lowe is 36, Oliver Perez is a walking machine, and Ryan Dempster is barely a free agent with his predisposition to re-sign with the Cubbies. I won't even mention CC since he'll end up at $25M/year for like 30 years.

Haven't seen too many people jumping on the Adam Dunn bandwagon, lots of Ks but a lot of HRs and walks too... and really consistent (OBP >.380 4 of the last 5 years with 40 HRs a year).

Towers is in quite a pickle now, and to be honest I'm somewhat relieved that we will not have to part ways with Yunel, at least for now. I think Yunel has all the tools to become one of the elite shortstops in the game, and as much as I would like to have Peavy I dont think it would be smart to deal Escobar, especially when we can still potentially get either Burnett, Dempster, or Lowe.

Its good to get different opinions on this subject. I do think that some fans are looking at this team through Rose Colored glasses. Yes, this team had some injuries, but part of it was that the pitching was built around 2 40 plus yr old pitchers who were counted on. Not to mention Chipper's recent frequent injury history & Hamption's.

Now, I don't blame anyone for wanting to not trade the farm. But if the Braves take this route, expect to wait a couple of yrs before they get back into contention. I don't expect other teams to jump at what the Braves are offering. Hernandez waas still a Class A player last year, and there are other prospects ahead of him in the orgainzation. A stud prospect, I doubt it. I don't think that Morton is a very good young pitcher yet. As for Boyer and Reyes, well, cross your fingers. Don't expect other teams to jump over them, they are not stupid, and Wren knows it.

Look I want our Braves to win again in the worst way...but I'm fine with it being next year as long as we improve this year and start adding the pieces.Towers wanted too much for Peavy, hey they're the ones slashing payroll and trying to move vets for as much as possible. Peavy listed a few NL teams he'd waive his no trade clause for, we were the one with the most to offer, Towers tried to get greedy and we called his bluff. Escobar is an awfully good ss, he's young and isnt arbitration eligible for a couple of seasons. Hernandez has tons of speed, and above average defensive skills while swinging a decent bat. Morton has all the tools he just has to gain confidence, the guy went toe to toe with Johan last year and showed flashes. Finally Locke is a very highly regarded lefty who's still a couple of seasons away but very promising nontheless. If that isnt enough for Peavy then the Padres should keep him, he's obviously worth more than Johan was or any top pitcher available is.

Burnetts agent has already said he and the braves have a mutual interes, Wrenn is familiar with him and Dempster. Those are the two guys I'd offer 4 years 60 millionish too. I'd then take the remaining 10-20 million dollars left to spend and re-sign Olman, Smoltz(to close), Norton and maybe Hampton.

We can trade for a LF'er with power without giving up top-notch prospects and field a very competetive team. Not to mention it would be built for more than just this year because we wouldnt have mortgaged our position players of the near future and Hudson will likely return to a pitching staff set up for a good 3-4 year run.

You Braves fans are so comical. We're talking about trading for an ACE #1 pitcher who is under contract for many many years and priced way UNDER market value. And you think Yunel (a good player) and your 3rd best OF in your system in A ball mind you, a so-so guy, and a who cares, for Peavy is too much? Seriously, do you follow baseball much outside of the ATL? The Brewers had to give up their #1 prospect, ranked higher than any ATL prospect by BA, and a few other guys just for a couple months of his service. Be realistic here...and do you really think ATL will be able to get 2 of this group: CC, Lowe, Burnett, Dempster, when just about every team is looking to add pitchers including the top spenders in MLB like the Yanks, LAD (60+ mil to spend), NYM, CUBS, MIL, STL, BOS, TOR, BAL, DET, ANA, TEX...to name a few off the top of my head. Get ready to pay. You may get one of the top 4 but you'll have to compete bigtime. ANd let me ask you this. Once CC and Lowe are gone you have a bunch of guys who are regularily on the DL. Go ahead and sign Burnett so he can join your other pitchers on the bench...meanwhile Peavy will be competing for the Cy Young. ATL if your prospects are more important than winning now you'll have to wait. Its going to take Yunel and Hanson to get Peavy. SD doesnt have to trade him...

I have been following this all along and have always thought that the Braves were offering way too much even for a potential ace. Let' s go get Lowe and another starter and work to get Hampton under a reasonably good incentive package for both sides.

Are the Braves willing to overpay for a Lowe (36 yrs old) or Burnett (hasnt put together 2 good years in a row since forever) or Dempster (before this year was hurt 6 yrs straight). Whats ATL going to do when they don't get them? Or do you prefer to take the risk of more DL pitchers? SD and Towers will be sitting pretty when the top guys are gone...price will go up for sure. Dont kid yourselves. PAHAHAHHAHAHAAA

This sucks because I wanted the braves to give up an all star shortstop in escobar ...a young up and coming lefty star in reyes... one of the games better YOUNG relievers in boyer and a decent centerfield prospect in hernandez for peavy so they dont have those top line prospects anymore so the phils can win another world series... Towers is way to greedy and already said peavy is on a train outta town ...lol....buyers have the upper hand now big time..

Peavy is just as injury prone as Burnett, Dempster, Penny and Sheets. This past year Dempster and Burnett were better than Peavy. Towers has to move Peavy to get payroll in line where the owner wants it. He can hem,haw, and posture all he wants but in the end Peavy will be gone.

Since Peavy controls his own fate he has Towers by the &#%$s. Towers has to show he has some control over the trade to keep from losing his standing with other GMs and owners in baseball. He doesn't want to look like a fool. I think the package offered by Atlanta was adequate and better than the Cubs offer. Peavy's first choice is said to be the Cubs. If they get tired of waiting and ink Dempster again where does that leave Towers? I really think Peavy will not play in the AL unless tremendous money is thrown his way. He probably doesn't like the idea of pitching against teams where all 9 batters can be tough outs. Towers is in a hopeless position. He loses either way.

I find it very amusing how much people over-value prospects these days. Fans always seem to look at the best case scenario when it comes to prospects, but in reality a very small % of mlb prospects actually reach their best case scenario. I can't comment on the quality of the package the braves put forward for Peavy, or what kind of package Peavy is worth, but just look at Peavy's career stats and its hard to deny the fact that he is an ace, a legit ace, and there are only so many legit aces in the league (msot teams don't even have one). If you truly feel that the braves have a strong team then now would be the time to consider packaging some of your prospects for an ace who can help put a team over the top. And its not like Wren is even willing to give up your top prospects either, he doesn't seem willing to trade the guys with superstar potential or anything like that.

Everyone is looking at peavy's 2008 Won Lost. Check his ERA. He's great but still not worth the price the Braves were willing to give up. If Frenchy can come back next year and the BiG Mac can have another all star season, we won't need to mortgage the future for Peavy.

I think Wren figured out how much Peavy plus a free agent short stop like Furcal or Renteria is going to cost him. It looks like about ten teams are interested in signing either of them so expect them to get into the 3 years/$45 million range.

We all know Burnett, Dempster and Lowe are going to go for top dollar -- but there are several high risk/high yield starters available in Ben Sheets, Randy Johnson and Mike Hampton who could be obtained for a third of the cost of Peavy and an expensive free agent short stop.

Yeah padre24, you are so right. That was such a great trade for the Brewers to get CC. They had him for a little over two months. He was so good that he carried them all the way to a first round exit from the playoffs. And he was 0-1, talk about coming through in the clutch. I bet the Brewers wish they had that "#1 prospect" back. Wow, what a great trade that was. The Braves know what they are doing. They have learned their lesson when they traded half of the farm system to get Teixeira. Trust me, the Padres are not getting Hanson. So, maybe you shouldn't kid yourself.

As a Padres Fan, I would have to admit that we let one get away. Towers should've pulled the trigger aside from Hanley, Reyes, and Rollins... That Escobar kid was probably the next best shortstop and given that it was his first full season, I think he may end up being another chipper like guy .300 and 25+ every year. Peavy's away ERA was 4.84 while at home it was 1.74 I dont think he is good outside of Petco Field.. true ace's dont have losing records over the course of a season just ask Maddox during his prime

It could be possible that Peavy goes to the Yankees now. It looks as if Cashman is not stoping. I don't want them to give Hughes, Cano, or Austin Jackson. A couple of other players....that is fine. This looks to be a crazy off-season.