Cubs.com says that, assuming the Cubs sale to the Ricketts family goes through, the oft-rumored Peavy deal could follow.
Such a deal likely would include newly-acquired Garrett Olson (via the Orioles in the Felix Pie trade), a player Padres GM Kevin Towers "likes". Olson was also a piece of the three-way trade the Cubs, Orioles and Padres attempted to get done during the Winter Meetings.
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from the article.
A Peavy trade would address a priority for the Padres to acquire promising young prospects in return for expensive veteran players, as clubs such as the Athletics, Rays and Twins have done successfully in the recent past. Moores instructed management to decrease last season's $73.6 million player payroll to about $40 million in 2009.
With Peavy's $11 million still on the books for this season, the current projected payroll is at about $45 million. Beyond '09, Peavy is owed another $52 million in a deal that runs through 2012 and includes a club option for 2013. The option is for $22 million with a $4 million buyout.
Towers said he last spoke with Cubs GM Jim Hendry on the phone about a week ago, but he added that there had been no substantive trade talks since a four-way deal that included the Phillies and Orioles broke down in December as the Winter Meetings closed.
Towers did say on Monday that Olson was a player he likes and was "identified" as part of the deal that was considered last month.
Regarding the payroll, Towers said that he isn't yet at the appropriate total.
"But we're not forced to dump players," he said. "There are ways of getting where we need to be so John's comfortable by the end of the season. I didn't want to feel like I was being leveraged on Peavy. I didn't want that to happen."
