The World Series Champions aren’t sitting pat this offseason. The Phillies are apparently aggressively pursing Rockies’ outfield Matt Holliday to add another potent bat to their lineup.

The Rockies surely would be interested in Phillies centerfielder Shane Victorino, but it isn’t known whether Philadelphia would consider moving him. The Phillies have several other well-regarded young players, including catcher Lou Marson, shortstop Jason Donald and pitcher Carlos Carrasco. Sources indicate that the Phillies have enough good young players to be able to do a deal for Holliday if the sides can agree.

Baseball executives expect Holliday to be traded at some point this offseason, but nothing appears imminent.

Any team after Holliday is about to play Russian Roulette. His contract expires at the end of the 2009 season, so there’s a great chance that whatever team acquires him will only be doing so for one season. Obviously a long-term deal can be struck, but most players want to test the free agent waters before making a decision on if they want to return to the team they just played for.

The Chicago Cubs have emerged as a possible candidate to acquire San Diego Padres’ ace Jake Peavy.

The Chicago Cubs have leapt to the forefront of the Jake Peavy trade discussion, though the San Diego Padres are continuing to talk with the Atlanta Braves in hopes of extracting a better package, sources told Yahoo! Sports on Thursday night.

The team that lands the former National League Cy Young winner could depend on which includes its top pitching prospect, according to the sources. The Padres have asked the Cubs for right-hander Jeff Samardzija as the headliner of a package that could include outfielder Felix Pie, pitcher Sean Marshall and infielder Ronny Cedeno. Other potential pieces, another source said, were pitcher Kevin Hart and minor-league pitcher Donnie Veal.

A rotation of Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, Jake Peavy and Ryan Dempster would be filthy, although the Cubs would be mortgaging their long-term future by parting with so many prospects. Still, their roster is set up for them to win now and in baseball, you have to worry about one year at a time if you’re a contender like the Cubs obviously are.

The New York Post kind of, sort of confirms what we’ve already known for months: The Yankees will likely pursue Manny Ramirez this offseason.

Manny Ramirez doesn’t fit the Yankees ‘ desire to get younger and more athletic, but several industry sources believe the Yankees will make a serious push for the free agent to play right field next year.

Though GM Brian Cashman says the top offseason priority is starting pitching, he did not rule out interest in the 36-year-old Ramirez.

“We are looking at starting pitching,” Cashman said when asked about the team’s interest in Ramirez.

“We will see how the free agent and trade markets are.”

The Dodgers have offered Ramirez a two-year deal worth $60 million to remain in Los Angeles, but he is expected to file for free agency and look for a four-year deal in the $80 million range.

Is it even really a question anymore? The World Series is done with and while I understand Cashman doesn’t want to tip his hand in the bargaining game, there’s no sense in dancing around the topic anymore. The Yankees need pitching more than they need another big bat, but this is what the Bombers do – they make a splash. The Boss and Son Boss didn’t like missing the playoffs last year and there’s not much that will stand in their way of going out and signing the big name. And there’s no bigger name on this year’s market than Manny Ramirez.