Smart Cubbies

I think that Jake Peavy is one of the best pitchers in baseball. The numbers speak for them self. In three of the last four seasons, Peavy has produced an ERA under three while striking out over 200 hitters. That's flat out domination. Almost any team in baseball craves to get their hands on a pitcher like Peavy.

With that said, I think that the Cubs are smartly staying away from Peavy. As Manager Lou Piniella stated,

"Starting we don't need. We're set. We've got six good starters, and they're all experienced. Getting [Ryan] Dempster back was the key. We're in good shape with our starting pitching."

Piniella hit the nail on the head. Even though Peavy would certainly upgrade the Cubs pitching, the price the Cubs would have to pay for Peavy is certain to be astronomical. The Padres appear to be looking for at least one or two prime talents. Unfortunately for the Cubs, their minor league system is not stacked like the Braves and they would probably have to include Ryan Theriot, Mike Fontenot, Sean Marshall, Josh Vitters or Felix Pie. The inclusion of any of these players would mitigate the Cubs little organizational depth.

If the Cubs are going to win this season, their depth is going to play a big role. Rich Harden is perennially injured while Carlos Zambrano struggled with shoulder injuries throughout the second half of 2008. Furthermore, Derrek Lee and Alfonso Soriano have each dealt with their fair share of injuries during their Cub tenures. I have a feeling that the Cubs will need all the quality talent they need if they are to succeed in 2009.

Trading for Peavy would have been a classic panic move after the Cubs got swept by the Dodgers. The Cubs are a great baseball team that only needs some minor tweaking to be a serious contender in 2009. The only way the Cubs should make move on Peavy is if they can acquire him at a heavily discounted rate.

(Note: I would love to see the Reds made a strong play for Peavy. Between Daryl Thompson, Homer Bailey, Brandon Phillips, the Reds might have enough to make this thing interesting. They should have no problem generating offense in that ballpark and Peavy would give them a dynamic 1-2 with Edinson Volquez. Would Reds ownership would raise payroll? That's another story)