St. Louis Cardinals Trade Rumors: Jake Peavy

Jun 30, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jake Peavy (44) pitches during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Down just 1.5 games in the National League Central to the Milwaukee Brewers, the St. Louis Cardinals may decide to shake things up via a trade in order to get that extra second-half push they need.

Though it’s been reported that starting pitcher Michael Wacha is recovering and could start a throwing program in as soon as two weeks, Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com reports that the Cards are still focusing on pitcher as the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline approaches. In fact, Rosenthal Tweets that it’s not just starting pitchers the Cardinals are considering:

Focus of #STLCards remains rotation. Exploring all aspects of market - upper-end, mid-level, back-end types. Wacha best case: Early Sept.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 22, 2014

Trading for a starting pitcher would certainly make sense, though, especially with Shelby Miller currently doing some time in the bullpen. Adam Wainwright is a legitimate ace and Lance Lynn is a good No. 2. Carlos Martinez has been inconsistent, though, and Joe Kelly has one great game to counter a pretty bad outing since he’s come back from injury. This reporter would like to see at least one more good start by him in order to feel that he’s back on track.

Getting Wacha back would be great for a playoff run, but in the meantime, finding a solid starter to add to the rotation would be smart.

One of the big names that has been brought up around the Cardinals hot stove as of late is Boston Red Sox starting right-hander Jake Peavy. As early as this past monday, Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe said that a deal with the Cards could still be an option, it’s just not at the forefront right now:

Jake Peavy is still on Cards' back burner according to a major league source. Peavy, who starts Tuesday, has made 3 consecutive good starts.
— Nick Cafardo (@nickcafardo) July 22, 2014

Yesterday, Buster Olney of ESPN.com Tweeted that the a deal hasn’t happened yet because the sides haven’t been able to come to terms. St. Louis wasn’t planning on giving up anybody for Peavy, they’d just take his salary off Boston’s hands. Per Olney, the Red Sox want a prospect from the Cardinals, though:

Peavy/Cards hasn't happened because BOS wanted a prospect in return; STL wanted to just take on salary. SF? Peavy/Bochy go way back.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 22, 2014

Baseball expert Peter Gammons reports that the Sox may have a St. Louis prospect in mind, if the Cards were indeed to decide to pull the trigger on a Peavy deal before the deadline:

Red Sox were in watching State College OF Rowan Wick in case Cards make deadline push for Jake Peavy
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) July 22, 2014

Wick has a .378 average with 14 home runs and 38 RBI for the Class A State College Spikes. His Slugging Percentage is .815 and he boasts an OPS of 1.290.

Peavy’s record in 2014 is 1-9 and he has a 4.72 ERA. He gave up five runs against Toronto on Tuesday night in 6.1 innings.

He doesn’t have pretty stats this year, and that could be a reason St. Louis is weary to trade for him, but he is an experienced arm who could benefit from a change in scenery. If the Cardinals are looking for another starter, Peavy could end up being a solid option.

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