UPDATE (12:09 a.m. Tues.): Jim Salisbury confirms the trade talk for Philadelphia. He writes a Phillies source says a three-team trade is possible, but a four-team trade is “doubtful.”
Salisbury added Delmon Young is way down the Phils list of targets, according to team sources.
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UPDATE (11:18 p.m.): Mid-Atlantic Sports Network brings up a point we shouldn’t overlook: The Phillies could be interested not in DeRosa, but pitcher Jason Marquis.
Marquis, 29, went 11-9 with a 4.53 ERA last season for the Cubs.
I don’t know. Why would the Phils trade Happ (who could put up those same numbers, or better) for Marquis?
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UPDATE (10:40 p.m.): Krasovic has a good grasp on this now. He says the Orioles would be in on the deal, making it a four-team swap. The Phillies are interested in Mark DeRosa, and — to my knowledge — would likely send JA Happ and Chris Coste to the Padres for DeRosa, who would be part of the original deal for Peavy. There may be another name involved, but I don’t know that name now.
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UPDATE (9:45 p.m.): Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune sheds a little more light on this:
The Padres like their chances of getting Cubs prospect Josh Vitters and Cubs pitchers Sean Marshall and Kevin Hart. The Cubs are exploring side deals to add to the mix, including a swap that would bring Orioles left-handed pitcher Garrett Olson to the Padres. As for the fifth player, Cubs reserve shortstop Ronny Cedeno has been discussed. The Padres are looking for a shortstop, and Towers said it’s possible the Peavy trade will bring them one.
As for Olson, the Padres may be able to do better if the Phillies and Cubs make a side deal, and there has been progress in that direction.
This means that if the Phils were to take part in this deal, they’d likely send Happ and Coste to San Diego. In return, the Phils would receive Vitters, or maybe Vitters and Cedeno or Mark DeRosa. Looking far ahead, that means Vitters (a third baseman) could be turned around as a trading chip. Or Jason Donald might be more readily available.
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THOUGHTS: I don’t know how the Cubs could give the Phillies enough in this kind of deal. One major league-ready name that strikes me is outfielder Felix Pie. The 23-year-old hit .241 with one HR and 10 RBI in 83 at bats last season. He was the Cubs’ top prospect in 2007 and bats left-handed.
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UPDATE (9:09 p.m.): Scott Miller of CBS Sportline has names:
Any Phillies’ involvement could wind up sending left-hander J.A. Happ, 26, the Phillies’ third-round pick in the 2004 draft, to San Diego. The Padres and Phillies also have discussed catcher Chris Coste, according to sources.
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UPDATE (9:06 p.m.): MLB.com seems to refute the idea that the Phils are looking at Peavy; instead, they side with Rotoworld, saying the Phils would help facilitate a trade of Peavy to Chicago.
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UPDATE (9 p.m.): According to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the Phillies are interested in Peavy:
The Padres like some of the Phillies’ young minor-league pitchers, major-league sources told Rosenthal, but the talks are only in the preliminary stages.
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From Rotoworld:
The Phillies have reportedly emerged as a possible third team in the discussions between the Cubs and Padres regarding Jake Peavy.
The Cubs and Phillies wouldn’t seem to have much of a fit, unless the Phillies were particularly enamored with third base prospect Josh Vitters and were willing to throw a couple of young pitchers San Diego’s way in order to get him. Ronny Cedeno to Philadelphia would also make some sense, but he’s hardly a major piece.
Vitters, 18, hit .328 with five home runs and 37 RBI in 61 games for low-A Boise in 2008. He’s set to begin 2009 in A-ball. He was the Cubs’ first-round pick (third overall) in the 2007 draft.
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