MLB Trade Rumors: Jake Peavy, Matt Holliday, Ryan Dempster

Jake Peavy is currently at the forefront of the Hot Stove talk during the playoffs, and for good reason. With the upcoming contracts to be dished out to the likes of CC Sabathia, Derek Lowe and Ben Sheets, Peavy may appear to be a bargain after all is said and done. With that said, the updated Peavy rumormill:

MLB.com Padres' beat reporter Alyson Footer has this to say in today's article:

Major League sources told MLB.com that Peavy is strongly believed to be drawing the most interest from the Dodgers and the Braves, and that a deal could be completed in the very near future, possibly in the next week.

It makes sense for the Padres to want to get this done quickly. One reason, they don't want to repeat how the Twins handled the Johan Santana trade negotiations last offseason. Another is they have no other competition....yet. Pending free agents can't announce their decisions until after the World Series is over. So the Padres don't have to deal with teams who have interest in CC Sabathia or Derek Lowe just yet.

We have already read what it would cost the Braves in a deal for Peavy, but nothing from the Dodgers. They have some young pitching in Clayton Kershaw and James McDonald, and young middle infielders who are ready to play in the majors in Chin Lung Hu and Ivan Dejesus. Matt Kemp may also be a target of the Padres. McDonald was outstanding in his two appearances in the NLCS.

Should LA trade for Peavy, they will turn their attention to dealing one or both of Juan PIerre and Andruw Jones, which will be quite a challenge. Maybe they make the deal sweeter if SD takes one of them.

Matt Holliday was the king of the rumormill back in July, but was not traded. What I find amazing is that we have yet to hear from the Ken Rosenthal's of the world that the Rockies have made him available. But MLB.com Rockies beat reporter Thomas Harding said he would be "surprised if both (Atkins and Holliday) aren't traded". He mentions this as the Rockies top need this offseason is a front of the rotation starter, and Holliday and Atkins are quality chips...Holliday moreso than Atkins.

I can think of one team that needs a LFer and a 3bman, and it's main weakness is power....the Dodgers. But the price would be so steep, that Ned Colletti would probably shy away from any trade talk with the Rockies since they are in the same division. Another is the Phillies, and they have some young arms in their farm system, but the Rockies want a major league ready starter in return, and the Phils also need more pitching depth. Still another would be the Angels, who have young major league ready pitching to trade. The Angels may be the frontrunner for Holliday as they are expected to lose Mark Teixeira to the highest bidder, presumably to the Yankees, and will need to replace his bat in the lineup. Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders may be the chips needed in any deal for Holliday.

Ryan Dempster had a Cy Young caliber season in 2008 for the Cubs. The Cubs GM Jim Hendry was just extended today, and his main priority in the offseason is to re-sign Dempster. Hendy also said that if an OFer presents themselves to the Cubs in the offseason, they would look to sign/trade for that OFer, and that Kosuke Fukudome would have to earn his playing time in 2009. Interesting.