I really hate being a conspiracy theorist, but I do have to wonder why there has been absolutely no talk about Jake Peavy lately. The Braves seem to be talking to the Rangers about Padilla and Millwood. I was reading an Oakland A's blog (clicked a link on MLBTR) and it was a pretty well documented article that explained (in the eyes of the blogger) how poorly Kevin Towers has handled this whole Peavy fiasco. Granted, Peavy has tied the hands of Padres ownership with this NTC, but because everyone knows this, everyone is walking on egg shells as far as what they are willing to offer. At the same time all of this is going on, Padres ownership spit in the face of their HOF closer Trevor Hoffman with their poorly executed negotiations. The latest rumor I've heard was that the Padres may now put the originally offered contract back on the table for Hoffman as a way to save face with that relationship. Meanwhile part deaux, The Padres picked up the option for Brian Giles, the biggest contract the Padres were shelling out for the '09 season. The Padres could try to trade Giles, but Giles has already stated that he will not waive his NTC to go ANYWHERE. To trim the payroll in half as Moores has pretty much eluded to, Giles, Hoffman, Greene and Peavy needed to be traded or let go. Peavy was the only one with a guaranteed contract of the 3 for 2009. Giles did hint that he might be willing to go to a team that has a chance to win, but it sounded more like he was talking about 2010 rather than 2009. So, just for fun, I offer this crazy little trade, since it doesn't appear as though the Padres will get anything significant for Greene or Giles, and not enough for Peavy. Cubs get Peavy, Greene and Giles (approximately 25m in payroll for 2009) Padres get Marquis, Theriot, Pie, Marshall, Castillo and Hart (Cubs pick up 3m of Marquis' contract). Soriano Giles Lee Ramirez Soto DeRosa Fukudome Greene Bench: Johnson, Fontenot, Cedeno, Hoffpauir, Blanco/other backup C SP Peavy Zambrano Harden Dempster Lilly With this trade, the Padres fill all their roster holes. LF Headley CF Pie RF Gerut 3b Kouzmanoff SS Theriot 2b E. Gonzalez/Antonelli 1b Gonzalez C Hundley SP: Young, Marquis, Marshall, Baek, 5th starter from a plethora of choices within their crappy system. Cubs add 20m to payroll and Padres skim 20m from payroll. And the savings from last year's payroll of Edmonds, Maddux, Iguchi, Hoffman, Wolf, Bard and Barrett, they should reach their goal and they'd actually have some money to spend to fill a hole or two where it is warranted. If Greene and Peavy were going to be traded, it's possible that Giles might be willing to waive his NTC to be a part of the trade. The Orioles turned down Khalil Greene for Garrett Olson. In other words, Towers has played all of his cards and no one is taking them seriously. But, from everything we have read, Hendry has been the one guy who has continued to show interest, even if it appears as though he too has started to move on. Cubs don't seem to be big players for Furcal. Nor do they seem to be enthralled with any of the FA lefty hitting outfielders, especially if they cost draft picks. Wood has already been shown the door, and Peavy has been rumored to favor pitching for the Cubs. Do the Cubs have 20m lying around? I'm guessing they do if they move Marquis. Greene and Giles only have contracts through this next season. That's my crazy trade thought of the day. I'm sure I'll sour on it in an hour or two.