I get it – baseball trades are fun. They’re fun to speculate about, they’re fun to debate and they’re fun to analyze. But just because a club needs a bat, an arm or is just looking to shrink salary, doesn’t mean that a trade needs to happen.

I’ve compiled a list of five trade rumors and where they originated. I then discuss why each of them makes sense, but why they also don’t necessarily need to happen.

Rumor #1: The Red Sox will trade for Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Why it makes sense: Boston is growing impatient waiting for Jed Lowrie to recover from a wrist injury that has held him out since mid-April. They’re also tired of watching Julio Lugo (who is equally bad offensively as he is defensively) make a mockery of the game whenever he trots onto the field. While Nick Green has done well filling in for Lowrie while he’s been hurt and for Lugo while he continues to work on being the most overpaid player in professional sports, the Sox feel they could do better with Wilson. (There’s also a rumor making the rounds that Boston wouldn’t have to give up any top prospects in order to acquire Wilson – they just would need to take on the rest of his salary.)
Why it doesn’t need to happen: Wilson is excellent defensively, but he brings very little to the table in terms of offense. He’s also overpaid himself, as he’ll make $7.25 million this year and $8.4 million in 2010 despite being limited at the dish. While waiting for Lowrie to return to the field has been a slow death for the Sox, he’s cheaper than Wilson and gives the team a better overall player at the position (when he’s healthy, of course). Plus, Green has played well and Boston might be better served holding onto prospects in order to make a more productive move around the trade deadline (i.e. adding another bat in case David Oritz plans on hitting south of .200 all season) than one involving Wilson.

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In a recent video blog for ESPN.com, Buster Olney broached the topic of whether or not the Padres will trade young star Adrian Gonzalez and said that if they do, it’ll be during the winter.

Olney says that the Padres have already alienated their fans by letting closer Trevor Hoffman leave via free agency and by trying to deal ace Jake Peavy, so they don’t want to disrupt their loyal followers even more by dangling Gonzo on the trade market. Olney also noted that the Red Sox would be interested in Gonzo if he were available now, although he also stated that the Pads would get more in exchange for the slugger if they wanted until the offseason.

Even the thought of trading away a young bat like Gonzalez would be enough to send most Padre fans to their nearest psych ward. He’s their only slugger in a weak offense and he’s locked up until 2012. Why would San Diego deal a young productive player like Gonzo when they’re trying to rebuild in the midst of an ownership change?

The answer is that if the Padres were able to unload Peavy and Gonzo, they wouldn’t only save money, but they could also completely retool their farm system. Both players are in their prime, they’ve been incredibly productive so far this season and their trade stock has never been hire. Could you imagine the haul San Diego could bring in if they dealt both of those players? Along with picking No. 3 in this year’s MLB draft, the Pads could build a core in their farm system and compete for years to come, rather than struggle in a weak NL West for the next couple of years with Peavy and Gonzo on the roster.

It’ll be interesting to see what the Padres do around the trade deadline when contending clubs are desperate. Maybe Onley is right and they won’t make a move until this offseason, but if the right trade comes along in the next couple months, it might be hard for SD to sit on their hands.

If the Cubs are interested in acquiring ace Jake Peavy from the Padres, the clock could be ticking on the opportunity.

Peavy said he would waive his no-trade option to join either the Cubs or Dodgers, but San Diego seemingly doesn’t want to deal the ace to someone in their division, so that would leave Chicago as their best trade partner at this point, unless another team emerges (Milwaukee?) in the upcoming days/weeks.

But according to Daily Herald’s Barry Rozner, if the Padres can’t move Peavy’s contract off their books soon, then they might begin “offloading salaries” and if they do that, then they might as well just keep their top pitcher.

The Cubs and Peavy seem like an excellent match, but as I recently wrote in my latest column, if Chicago is going to trade for anything right now it would probably be another bat. Milton Bradley has been dismal, Aramis Ramirez is on the DL and Derrek Lee has been as inconsistent as ever.

The Cubs’ starters on the other hand, have been solid. Ted Lilly and Ryan Dempster have pitched well, Carlos Zambrano just got off the DL and Randy Wells has been a pleasant surprised as a fill-in for injured starters.

So why give up prospects to add Peavy to a rotation that’s already good enough to win? The timing is off for the Cubs, which means in the end they could inevitably pass on the opportunity to trade for Peavy.

The White Sox thought they had added an ace last week when they worked out a deal with the Padres that would have sent (among others) their top two pitching prospects – Clayton Richard and Aaron Poreda – to San Diego in exchange for starting pitcher Jake Peavy. But with his desire to stay in the National League at the forefront of his decision, Peavy exercised his no-trade option and nixed the deal before it was completed.

Now that that deal has been squashed, where will Peavy wind up when the curtain closes on the 2009 baseball season? Or will he even be traded at all?

I’ve ranked the top 5 landing spots for Peavy and why each club will and won’t land the San Diego ace.

1. Milwaukee Brewers
Why they’ll land Peavy: If the Cubs’ offense continues to struggle, then Chicago will more than likely trade for a bat instead of adding another arm to its starting rotation. With the Cubs seemingly focused on their offense, a path could clear for the Brewers to make the Padres an offer for Peavy. Don’t forget that the Brewers surprised a lot of baseball pundits who believed they would never trade top prospect Matt LaPorta for ace CC Sabathia last season, but Milwaukee did just that. So while the Brewers don’t have the young pitching prospects that San Diego might covet, they certainly have a ton of young position talent that they could offer to pull off a deal. Plus, even though they lost Sabathia to free agency in 2009, Peavy would be under contract through the 2013 season, so at least the Brewers wouldn’t have to worry about giving up more top prospects for a pitcher that’ll walk again at the end of the year.
Why they won’t: After almost acquiring the White Sox’s top two pitching prospects, indications are that San Diego is looking for young arms in exchange for Peavy – which Milwaukee simply doesn’t have. The Brewers have a slew of young position talent, but outside of Jeremy Jeffress they don’t have many top arms in their farm system. If the Padres have their heart set on acquiring starting pitching, they’ll have to look elsewhere, because the Brewers just don’t have enough to make a worthwhile offer. Plus, a small market team like Milwaukee might eventually be scared away by the $63 million ($11 million is still owed to him in 2009) that remains on Peavy’s contract.

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Last season, the Brewers pulled off the biggest trade of the year in sending top prospect Matt LaPorta to the Indians in exchange for ace CC Sabathia. The trade catapulted Milwaukee into the postseason, even though it eventually led to them being bounced by the Phillies in the NLDS.

Fast forward to this season where the Brewers are currently in a first place tie with the Cardinals and at least one Milwaukee columnist thinks that the Brew Crew could once again swing a deal for a stud pitcher to lead them back into the postseason.

Whether the Brewers could come up with the players it would take to do such a deal is debatable. General manager Doug Melvin has said he has no inclination to trade his top two prospects, third baseman Mat Gamel and shortstop Alcides Escobar.

But keep in mind this regime has shown it will think out of the box. The Brewers did so when they traded top prospect Matt LaPorta and others for Sabathia, shocking the rest of the baseball world.
This is a team that fired manager Ned Yost with 12 games to go last season over fears he was making the team too tight and a team that offered Sabathia $100 million to stay before the Yankees blew that offer out of the water.

After watching the bench struggle for more than a month this season, a series of moves was made, signing veteran Frank Catalanotto to a minor-league deal, summoning Gamel to the majors and trading for San Diego outfielder Jody Gerut. More proactive moves from a proactive regime.

Rest assured that internal discussions about Peavy already have been held in the Brewers’ offices. You can bet closer Trevor Hoffman has told his former teammate about the close-knit clubhouse. Word has it that Ryan Braun and Peavy even exchange e-mails.

Perhaps the Brewers’ biggest competition for Peavy (presuming of course that Milwaukee is seriously interested in the San Diego starter) will be the Cubs, who were hot after Peavy this offseason before eventually walking away from negotiations. Rich Harden was just placed on the disabled list with back problems and ace Carlos Zambrano has already paid a visit to the DL once this year.

But the problem with assuming the Cubs are still interested in Peavy is that they desperately need a bat more than another arm. This is a club marred in a seven game losing streak in which they’ve averaged less than 1.5 runs per game in that span. Plus, truth be told, the Cubs’ pitching staff has been pretty good as is, getting quality outings from Ted Lilly (who has been their most reliable starter so far), Ryan Dempster and even Randy Wells, who has been solid filling in for injured starters. Would the Cubs be more inclined to deal for another pitcher rather than a much-needed bat? It’s possible, but unlikely.

That said, the Brewers could have a clear path to Peavy if they could put a decent trade package together on their end. With their lineup, Peavy could possibly give Milwaukee a significant edge over the Cards and Cubs in the NL Central.

It looks like the White Sox won’t be getting the pitching help they need after all.

The White Sox were able to strike a deal with the Padres for ace Jake Peavy, but Peavy exercised his no-trade clause to officially veto the deal before it could be completed. Peavy cited his desire to remain in San Diego as the main reason he nixed the trade, but many believe he doesn’t want to leave the National League either.

The conspiracy theorist in me questions whether or not this was a move to wake up the Cubs, who were hot after Peavy in the offseason but eventually walked away from the negotiation table with the Padres. Did San Diego GM Kevin Towers pursue a deal with the White Sox in an attempt to get the Cubs back into trade negotiations?

Think about it, if Towers knew that Peavy would never agree to join an American League team, then he could pursue a deal with the White Sox to piss Cub fans off and maybe get GM Jim Hendry to come back to the negotiation table. The trade attempt would also show the Cubs that Peavy is still available.

Again, this is just speculation on my part and my attempt to think outside of the box. The deal with the Sox could have very well been legit and had absolutely nothing to do with the Cubs. But if Towers has his eye on a prospect or two in the Cubs’ farm system, wouldn’t it be sly of him to use the White Sox as patsies to get the Cubs back into negotiations?

And isn’t it ironic that the day before Peavy rejects a trade to join the White Sox, the Cubs are in town for a three game set with the Padres?

According to a report by ESPN.com, Jake Peavy’s agent has expressed doubt that his client will agree to waive his no-trade clause in order for the Padres to complete a deal with the White Sox. Apparently the two teams have already agreed on a trade, but Peavy signing off on the deal is the final step.

The issue apparently is that Peavy wants to stay in the National League, where he’s played his entire career. It’s obviously much easier to face NL hitting than it is to go to the AL, where they DH the pitcher. It makes sense that he wants to give himself the best opportunity to succeed.

If this trade doesn’t go down, I wouldn’t fall asleep on the Cubs. They seemed hell bent on trading for Peavy in the offseason, but they eventually walked away. If Peavy doesn’t sign off on his no-trade clause in order to join the White Sox, will it wake up the other team in Chicago?

Despite battling a slew of injuries, the Cubs remain only three games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. Ace Carlos Zambrano is expected to come off the DL on Friday and start against the Padres (ironically), but adding Peavy to a rotation that already features Big Z, Rich Harden and Ryan Dempster would be killer.

The question is – do the Cubs have enough prospects to make a deal for Peavy? There probably isn’t a chance in hell they’d be willing to give up a young hitting prospect like Josh Vitters, but what about pitchers Jeff Samardzija and/or Andrew Cashner?

Nothing at this point suggests that the Cubs will try and re-enter trade talks with the Padres for Peavy, but it could be something to keep an eye on.

The Chicago Tribune speculates that the Brewers could eventually make a push to trade for Padres’ ace Jake Peavy.

The Brewers obviously have enough offense to compete for the National League Central title, but they probably could use another starter in their rotation to help them hang with the Cubs.

The Brewers acquired CC Sabathia from Cleveland last summer, and don’t be surprised if they make a push for Jake Peavy later this year.

“That’s going to be based solely on how well we play over the course of time,” said center fielder Mike Cameron, Peavy’s former teammate in San Diego. “I expect for us to play well. We have a lot of talent here.”

Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin shocked the baseball world with the Sabathia trade. But Melvin is a small-market GM with a big-market mentality, and stealing Peavy out from under the Cubs’ noses would be a big coup in Wisconsin.

What’s interesting is that the Padres attempted to trade Peavy for most of the offseason and failed to do so. They’re not expected to be competitive this season, yet they’ve started off 5-2 and it’ll be interesting to see if they hang on to Peavy in order to make a run in a weak NL West, which just got a little weaker with the Diamondbacks having to place ace Brandon Webb on the 15 day DL.

But if the Brewers were able to make a deal for Peavy, they would obviously strengthen their starting rotation while keeping him out of Chicago, who made a push to acquire him this past offseason.

The Chicago Cubs re-signed starter Ryan Dempster to a four-year, $52 million contract.

The 31-year-old right-hander was 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA for the Cubs this season.

“It was imperative that we kept him in house,” general manager Jim Hendry said. “No doubt in our minds that Ryan would have exceeded this deal on the streets in three or four weeks from now, the way the market is for starting pitching. Ryan was committed. From Day One he told us he wanted to stay. And it was a priority for us to try and get it done before we got too far down the road in the winter.”

As the Cubs’ closer from 2005-07, Dempster saved 87 games in 102 chances. After earning a spot in the rotation during spring training following rigorous workouts last offseason, he returned to the starter’s role he held with the Marlins and Reds from 1998-2003.

Dempster went 14-3 at Wrigley Field during the regular season.

Not bad money for a guy that could only win at Wrigley Field last year. It’ll be interesting to see if the Cubs can now pull off a deal for Jake Peavy.

CBSSports.com is reporting that the San Diego Padres are close to sending ace Jake Peavy to the Atlanta Braves.

Under terms of the deal discussed by the Braves and Padres, San Diego would receive shortstop Yunel Escobar, Class A outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, one of two starting pitchers — Charlie Morton or Jo-Jo Reyes — and either reliever Blaine Boyer or one of two minor-league left-handers (one of which is believed to be Jeff Locke).

In addition to Escobar and Hernandez, it is believed that the Padres, if the deal is completed, will opt for Morton, a 25-year-old right-hander who was 4-8 with a 6.15 ERA in 16 appearances — 15 starts — in 2008. They also are said to be leaning toward Boyer, a 27-year-old right-hander who was one of manager Bobby Cox’s chief workhorses last season, finishing tied for ninth in the NL with 76 appearances.

Though Padres scouts like Locke, he’s only 21 and not yet ready for the majors. The Padres’ bullpen was deeply disappointing last season and, now, with iconic closer Trevor Hoffman apparently having pitched his last game for the Padres, is close to being in complete disarray.

Regardless of where Peavy ends up, the Padres are going to look like a very different ball club next year, which isn’t a bad thing with how brutal the team was last year.