Why Not?

From Corey Brock (MLB):

SAN DIEGO — More than four months removed from shoulder surgery, Mark Prior is at the stage in his recovery when he’s starting to play catch.

Soon enough, the 28-year-old right-handed pitcher hopes to be doing some fielding — as in listening to offers from teams once he declares for free agency at the end of the World Series.

Could Prior, who signed a one-year deal worth $1 million in December with San Diego, be on the Padres’ radar again?

John Boggs, Prior’s San Diego-based agent, said Tuesday that he certainly hopes so.

“We would definitely be interested in the Padres,” Boggs said. “It’s a situation where I’m sure he would love the opportunity to come back with the Padres.

“But they [Padres] will have to express interest. Hopefully they’re interested in us. We’re interested in any team that has reciprocal interest in Mark.”

Hell, why not sign Mark Prior to a one-year deal, with incentives? He has tremendous upside and could be a huge pickup for any team, if he can maintain his health. Of course, the Padres also thought that way and signed him last year, giving Prior $1 million, in the hopes that he would regain his form. In the end, they had nothing to show for it, but they were obviously aware of the risk involved and knew that the rewards outweighed the risk. If pitchers like Victor Zambrano, Eric Milton and Sidney Ponson are given low-risk deals, why not invest in Prior?

Peavy Chatter Continues

From Buster Olney (ESPN):

Jake Peavy has the power to block the Padres’ efforts to trade him with the no-trade clause in his contract. For now, he is playing along, and has presented San Diego some guidelines. He’d prefer a National League team to an American League team, because the man likes to hit and run the bases. He’d prefer to play for the Houston Astros, or the Atlanta Braves, or the Dodgers or the Cubs or the St. Louis Cardinals. He’ll listen if the Padres have other ideas, such as dealing him to the Yankees.

Peavy is apparently willing to work with the Padres if they decided on a trade with the Yankees (they like the NY talent). He would just demand a ton of compensation, in return, meaning that they would have to guarantee his final years or increase the buyout payments on his options (at least), and extend his no-trade clause (which is obvious and makes sense).

Last Post On Joba’s DUI

Here are a few “Joba incident” bits:

1. Joba’s court date is on December 17th.
2. Shaun Powell reminds us that Joba is still a “kid”, and making mistakes is a part of growing up.
3. Harvey Araton has a nuanced take on the situation and provides a cautionary voice.
4. Hank Steinbrenner still supports Joba, of course

I don’t think I’ll be writing on the situation, anymore, unless there’s a major development (and that doesn’t seem likely). As I see it, it’s over and done with.

Padres Like Young Yankee Talent

Evidently, although Jake Peavy may not be warm to the idea of playing in the Bronx (or switching leagues), the Padres are taking a serious look at a few young Yankees. In fact, they reportedly like what the team could potentially offer in a trade. Here are two sources to support this notion.

First, from Bryan Hoch, in his weekly mailbag:

I believe Jake Peavy is exactly the type of pitcher the Yankees need. Do you think a package of Phil Hughes, Austin Jackson, Mark Melancon and Cabrera will be enough to land him?
– Jaime Z., Newark, N.J.

Probably not, though the Padres reportedly do like the Yankees’ talent as a potential match. Peavy has a no-trade clause, and even if the Padres decide to move him, it appears the right-hander would prefer to go to a National League team. His agent, Barry Axelrod, has been supplied with the names of five NL clubs Peavy likes: the Braves, Cubs, Astros, Dodgers and Cardinals.

Now the other text, from Ken Davidoff:

The Braves, Cardinals and Brewers are believed to be among the teams that both possess the young talent necessary to land Peavy, 27, and serve as appealing locales to the pitcher. He told the Houston Chronicle that he would approve a deal to the Astros to play with friend Roy Oswalt. But the Astros don’t appear to have a strong enough farm system to pull off a Peavy deal.

The Padres think they could find a match with the Yankees in a Peavy trade, but Peavy’s de facto exclusion of the AL takes the Yankees out of the equation, focusing them on free-agent targets such as CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe as they attempt to improve their rotation.

Clearly, as it stands now, there is a legitimate interest in Yankee-talent, amongst the Padres’ higher ups, however, there are some impediments to such a trade. Peavy’s problems with the AL and NYC is significant, despite the perception that the Yankees are one of 3 AL teams that may interest him. The second problem is “who”, meaning, who do the Padres want. If they want Phil Hughes and Austin Jackson or even Robinson Cano, I don’t know if the Yankees would go down that route. Also, if Peavy demands compensation for a NY trade, which seems likely, I doubt the Yankees would like giving up prospects and money, simultaneously. It’s an interesting situation and, as seen in the aforementioned sources, there is “something” there, we just don’t know how far it’ll go.