Peavy Talk

[PcB]

Slow news day... Grasping at straws really

Baltimore Sun

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >The Orioles have revisited trade talks with the Cubs about outfielder Felix Pie, according to industry sources, and could end up as the third team in a three-way deal that would send marquee right-hander Jake Peavy from the San Diego Padres to Chicago.

Pie, once considered one of the best young prospects in the game, was an Orioles target at this time last year when the two teams discussed a trade involving two-time All-Star second baseman Brian Roberts.

Orioles president Andy MacPhail said yesterday that a deal is not imminent but acknowledged that Pie is the kind of player the Orioles are pursuing to broaden the club's position depth.

I'm not really sure why the Orioles need Pie, but I'd be glad to give him up for Pie.

"We have a lot of different irons in the fire," MacPhail said. "We're in the process of determining who our trading partners might be and which free agents we might have a chance to sign. We're basically in the same position as everybody else, waiting for a couple of big dominoes to fall."

The Padres, who are limited in trade talks for Peavy because of the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner's no-trade clause, covet Garrett Olson, a Southern California native. This offseason, the Padres asked for Olson in exchange for veteran shortstop Khalil Greene, but the Orioles rejected the offer. Olson, 25, is 10-13 with a 6.87ERA in 33 starts over two majorleague seasons.

The Padres and Cubs have been looking for a third team to get involved in the Peavy trade talks because Chicago reportedly doesn't have all the young, majorleague-ready pieces San Diego is seeking."

Baltimore Sun

"The possible acquisition of multi-tool outfielder Felix Pie is intriguing, to say the least. If the Orioles end up being the third team in a proposed three-team deal to send marquee starting pitcher Jake Peavy from the Padres to the Cubs, they'll be in a position to field one of the youngest -- and most versatile -- starting outfields in the game.

Pie (right) has not developed quite the way the Cubs had hoped when they signed him as a teenage free agent out of the Dominican in 2001, but a lot of people still think he has the potential to be a very productive major league player. It wouldn't be a big surprise if the O's threw him out there in left field regularly the way they did with Adam Jones in center.

Of course, Luke Scott might have something to say about that, but he still would fit as the primary DH, with Aubrey Huff getting most of the playing time at first base.

The deal probably would not affect the Orioles' pursuit of free agent slugger Mark Teixeira. If they were to succeed in signing him, Huff would be the DH and Scott would likely share time with Pie, though both are left-handed hitters."

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