After signing CC Sabathia to a mega deal worth an estimated $161 million earlier in the day, the New York Yankees weren’t done on Wednesday as they traded youngster Melky Cabrera to the Milwaukee Brewers for 35-year old Mike Cameron.

The Yankees have been saying that Cabrera and Brett Gardner would compete for the center field job, but the acquisition of Cameron gives them a veteran presence at the position.

Many believed Cabrera would be the center fielder of the future entering the 2008 campaign, but a disappointing season, in which he hit .249 with eight homeruns and 37 RBIs in 129 games, led many to believe he was destined for a future as a utility outfielder. Yankees blue-chip prospect Austin Jackson is not expected to be ready for big league action until at least 2010, making Cameron the ideal one-year stopgap in center field.

Cameron, a former Met, hit .243 with 25 HRs and 70 RBIs in 120 games last season. He will earn $10 million in 2009.

Cameron has always been a fine ball player and it never hurts to add leadership to the clubhouse. But Cabrera is only 24, which means he still has roughly three years before he hits his prime so one would have thought that the Yankees would take their time to develop his talents.

This was a nice trade for Brewers as they cut salary and get a solid young player, but one that will need time to develop.

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.