This time, he said yes.
In a second whirlwind courtship, right-handed starter Jake Peavy relented and agreed to a last-minute trade to the White Sox that first was arranged more than two months ago.
The names were the same — Sox pitchers Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Adam Russell and Dexter Carter to the Padres — but the circumstances have changed.
Peavy has been on the disabled list since June 13 with a strained right ankle tendon and may not be able to pitch until September.
“This [American League Central race] is going to go down to winning games in September in our division, and we want to be as strong as we can be [then],” White Sox general manager Ken Williams said. “That’s what we are focused on.
“If you get to a situation where you have a chance to get to the playoffs, you certainly want an opportunity. … I simply did not feel as though we were positioned to match up against some of the big boys in a short series. … If you are going to be in this position, you may as well have a strong enough position where you can dream.”
Williams said the deal came together quickly Friday morning when he called Padres’ GM Kevin Towers, who immediately agreed to the names. Then Williams called agent Barry Axelrod, who talked with Peavy about his no-trade clause and came back with just seconds to spare before the 3 p.m. trade deadline.
“I was prepared for it to not meet the deadline,” Williams said. “It all came together with 23 seconds on the clock.”
Williams said Peavy was “so excited that I couldn’t get him off the telephone.”
Peavy told reporters in San Diego the timing was just right.
“When the team you’re playing for actively keeps telling you they need to move you, and one team comes after you like Chicago did, you’re excited to play where you’re wanted,” Peavy said. “… I think the only reason this deal was able to get done is because they did pursue it actively in May. In May, we had just won five or six games in a row … and Chicago wasn’t in the shape it’s in now.”
Peavy, the 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner, is 92-68 with a 3.29 ERA over eight seasons. This year he is 6-6 with a 3.97 ERA.
The other big-name pitcher on the market was the Blue Jays’ Roy Halladay, whom Williams also pursued vigorously, but he never was able to offer enough talent. Did Williams pay less for Peavy?
“Oh, yes,” Williams said with emphasis.
Is Peavy as good as Halladay?
“He can go out there and be that much of an impact, absolutely,” Williams said. “And we have him for three [more] years with an option [for a fourth]. If we were going to give up the amount of talent that we gave up, it was going to be for someone who will be part of our core for a number of years.”
The move obviously was made with this season in mind, but also for the next few years, when John Danks and Gavin Floyd grow into steady veterans.
Peavy will be owed the remainder of his $11 million salary this year, then $15 million, $16 million and $17 million for the next three seasons before a $22 million option kicks in. The Sox could buy out the last year for $4 million.
Does that make Peavy their ace?
“I have an ace, Mark Buehrle,” manager Ozzie Guillen said.
“If I’m not the highest-paid pitcher here, we’re going to talk because we have problems,” Buehrle said, apparently in jest.
Buehrle makes $14 million for each of the next three seasons.
Buehrle praised Peavy’s quality but admitted:
“Some of us are confused figuring out what [Williams] is doing if [Peavy] is going to be another month away. I don’t know what’s helping us for this next month.”
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dvandyck@tribune.com
