We have already talked about the
biggest trade bait on the market, Chicago Cubs RHP Matt Garza. Chicago has yet
another pitcher to offer though. However, we have to drive 8 miles south of
Wrigley to find him. That’s right, the White Sox are looking to deal one of
their main pitchers. He is not as valuable as Garza, but is probably the second
biggest pitcher on the market. Let’s look at RHP Jake Peavy.
Jake Peavy used to be all ever. As
a Padre, he had four seasons with an ERA under 3, his best being 2.27 in 2004
(he went 15-6). In 2005 he was just as good, pitching 37 more innings and
leading the NL in strikeouts with 216. It wasn’t until 2007 though where he had
his miraculous season, where he went 19-6 with a 2.54 ERA, 240 strikeouts, a
1.061 WHIP, and a 9.7 K/9 ratio. All of those stats, including wins, were the
highest in the NL. He would end up winning the Cy Young that year, and made his
2nd of 3 all-star appearances.
He was traded to the White Sox in
2009, and actually went 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA as a Sox player. In his career with
the Sox, he’s gone 35-29 with a 3.98 ERA. The main problem with Peavy is that
he’s been injured. In 2010 he only had 17 ML starts, and 18 in 2011. It wasn’t
until last year where he went 11-12 with a 3.37 ERA. Don’t let that record fool
you, though. He would go on to be an all-star, as well as win the Gold Glove
Award for pitchers.
Injuries still make Peavy on and
off though. He was activated from the disabled list last Friday, and as long as
his rib is doing ok, he could be some trade bait. Manager Robin Ventura said
that he’d rather keep Peavy, but you never know what can happen. The
Diamondbacks might be interested in him, as they need a guy like Peavy if they
want to keep their playoff hopes. The D-Backs pitching rotation is average,
even with Ian Kennedy (3-7, 5.29 ERA) having a horrible season. The White Sox
are interested in pitcher Randall Delgado from the D-Backs, a pitcher that the
D-Backs have considered dealing before. Delgado, a 23 years old, is 2-3 with a
3.43 ERA.
Peavy has lost some velocity in his
fastball. He used to have a 95 mph fastball on average, but now it’s settled to
about 91 mph. He then relies on his slider, cutter, and changeup to strike
batters out. At times he’ll throw a curveball, but that’ll be on rare occurrence.
He still has plenty of talent
though. The Cubs were interested in him in 2009, and they could be adding him
to their rebuilding program. I think they are more likely to go after
free-agent-to-be David Price as a main ace though.
Especially with injuries, it’ll be
tough to figure out where Peavy will go, if he’ll go. The White Sox could
easily trade him in 9 days though. He’s 32 years old, and could make a major
comeback from his years in Chicago to a different squad. I'm not done talking about the Sox though, they still have others to deal. Read tomorrow to find out more.
Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com with any
questions/comments/concerns.
-Evan Boyd
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