It took two tries to get Jake Peavy to the South side of Chicago, but getting Peavy at the last second before the 2009 MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline proved vital for the White Sox as their AL Central opponents had already been making moves to better their squads.
With literally seconds to go before the deadline came, the White Sox were able to secure Cy Young award winner Jake Peavy for pitching prospects Aaron Poreda, Clayton Richard, Adam Russell and Dexter Carter.
Here is the info on the prospects:
Richard, 25, is 4-3 with a 4.65 ERA in 26 games (14 starts) with the White Sox this season. He has allowed two runs on nine hits in 16 innings pitched over his last two starts.
Poreda, 22, is 3-4 with a 2.72 ERA and 59 strikeouts in nine starts this season between Triple-A Charlotte Double-A Birmingham. He went 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 10 relief appearances with the Sox before being optioned to Charlotte on July 21. The left-hander was the Sox’s first-round draft pick (25th overall) in 2007. He was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 3 prospect in the Sox organization entering this season.
Carter, 23, is 6-2 with a 3.13 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 19 starts with Class A Kannapolis.
Russell, 26, has gone 2-2 with a 3.20 ERA, five saves and 51 strikeouts in 34 relief appearances this season with Charlotte.
It is unclear if this is the exact same deal that the White Sox offered the Pads for Peavy in May, but there is one clear difference this time around: Peavy approved the deal. Peavy, who is on the DL with an ankle injury, was likely influenced by the perfect game hurled by Mark Buehrle in his decision to approve this deal.
If Peavy is able to pitch again this season – it’s possible that he does not – a post-season rotation of Buehrle, Peavy, and John Danks is very strong and matches up well with other power houses in the AL. Combine that rotation with the fourth best home run hitting team in the American League that has smacked 122 balls out of the park with only nine home runs from last year’s real AL MVP Carlos Quentin, who has been on the DL with most of the season, and you have a solid contender in the American League. In the event that Peavy is unable to come back this season, Jake is still under contract for next season, so the White Sox will still have a chance to make something out of this deal.
The White Sox likely panicked after seeing that the first place Detroit Tigers, whom they sit two and half games behind, land Mariners starter Jarrod Washburn for two young pitching prospects. Washburn has been fantastic this season and he gives the Tigers three of the top seven ERA leaders in the American League with his earned run average of 2.64 (Edwin Jackson at 2.59 is 2nd, Justin Verlander at 3.16 is 7th). Washburn now gives the Tigers a lefty to put in between Verlander and Edwin Jackson, both righties, in a playoff rotation. Imagine if rookie Rick Porcello could step up big in the playoffs, giving them four major arms. One can only wonder how good this team would be if all of their players actually showed up this season.
And as Joel Sherman noted, the Tigers have been successful despite getting nothing from “Ordonez, Sheffield [bought out], Bonderman, Guillen, Willis and Robertson,” who had salaries totaling $71 million this season. [via The Big Lead]
The second place Minnesota Twins – two games behind the Tigers and half a game ahead of the White Sox – also made a move at the deadline, adding Orlando Cabrera from the Oakland Athletics. Acquiring Cabrera is not as big of a move as picking up Peavy or even Washburn, but it gives the Twins a big offensive upgrade at the short stop position.
