NEWSLETTER
Grammatically flunktastic headline aside, here’s an interesting take on the Pie/Olson trade from the Padres’ perspective.
Does that mean a Peavy trade is more likely now? That’s overstating things, but Olson does give the Cubs a bit more flexibility, whether they decide to go after Peavy or not.
There are several things to remember here, some of which point against a trade, some which do not:
1) Sandy Alderson said Friday in his strongest terms yet that he expects Peavy to be with the Padres on Opening Day;
2) The Cubs still may not know whether their pending sale will allow them to raise their payroll in 2010, a big obstacle considering Peavy will be due $15 million that season;
3) For all his talk about retaining Peavy, Alderson nonethless kept the door slightly ajar Friday. He had talked about announcing in mid-January that Peavy definitely will be with the Padres for Opening Day, but on Friday, he pushed that back to Feb. 1;
4) The Padres still have a bit of payroll issue that would be alleviated by moving Peavy, who is due $11 million in salary this year. Padres Blog.
