The Jake Peavy to the White Sox deal is off. The San Diego Padres ace used his no-trade clause to veto the potential blockbuster move.
“San Diego is the best place for us,” Peavy said before Thursday night’s game with San Francisco. “We’ve made that decision for the time being. It’s been a crazy24 hours.”
Indeed it has. The craziness started Thursday morning when The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Peavy met with Padres manager Bud Black late Wednesday night to discuss a trade inquiry from the Sox.
The paper reported that Peavy referred to his status as “something to think about” but his preference is to continue pitching in the National League. The story stated that Peavy respects the Sox’s aggressiveness but has reservations about pitching for manager Ozzie Guillen.
Later, espn.com reported that Barry Axelrod, Peavy’s agent, wasn’t confident the trade would be made.
“If I had to make a bet on it, I would guess that Jake would say he’s not ready to take that step today,” the Web site quoted Axelrod. “But he wouldn’t necessarily preclude it at any time in the future.”
White Sox General Manager Ken Williams asked pitcher Scott Linebrink, a former teammate of Peavy’s, to help recruit the ace.
Linebrink talked to Peavy on Wednesday and revealed Thursday morning that he thought the likelihood of the deal being completed was “50-50” but added, “[Peavy’s] running out of spots to go to.”
– – –
20-1
While the White Sox awaited word on approval on a trade for San Diego pitching ace Jake Peavy, a pothole of deficiencies surfaced Thursday that resulted in one of the most humbling defeats in franchise history.
AL Central rival Minnesota pounded out 20 hits en route to a 20-1 victory that snapped the Sox’s two-game winning streak. The 19-run margin matches the largest loss in franchise history — a 19-0 loss at Anaheim on May 10, 2002.
