Jake Peavy will be entering the free agent market in the coming days, but it would appear that even with his team in the World Series he’s begun to think ahead towards the future. Peavy, a 13 year veteran, may be looking at the last multi-year deal of his career and has placed the Chicago Cubs atop his wish list of potential destinations.
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times first reported the possibility on Monday:
"Peavy didn’t want to talk too much about his pending free agency with a title hanging in the balance, but the former Cy Young winner has the Cubs at the top of his wish list, according to sources close to him.He wouldn’t confirm that, but he did rave about his experiences playing for the White Sox, the city of Chicago, and the plan he sees coming together on the North Side."
Wittenmyer adds that Peavy and Jon Lester, his former teammate with the Boston Red Sox and good friend, could potentially end up in Chicago together – though the pair isn’t going to offer the organization any type of package deal. Lester has long been viewed as a likely target for the Cubs and will be one of the premier arms available on the open market. Theo Epstein and Lester have ties that go back to when Epstein was the GM of the Red Sox, a factor that could play into contract discussions.
While Peavy won’t be among the upper echelon of available arms, he’s likely to command some interest on the free agent market despite his poor production in the postseason. The 33 year old had a fairly solid season in 2014 between Boston and the San Francisco Giants. He threw 202.2 IP with a 3.73 ERA and 1.278 WHIP. He saw a slight dip in his strikeout rate upon coming back to the National League following a July trade, but otherwise his numbers improved with the Giants compared to the first half of the season. The Giants are believed to have serious interest in re-signing him.
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The Cubs already have at least six potential starters on their roster, lending some question to just how aggressive they’ll be in their search for pitching this winter. Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks, Travis Wood, Jacob Turner, Felix Doubront, and Edwin Jackson represent an interesting mix of players who’ve just started to reach their potential (Arrieta, Wood) and those who’ve likely surpassed their peak (Doubront, Jackson). Only Jackson carries what might be considered as a veteran presence, but he’s largely scuffled since signing a significant free agent deal with the team and despite having two years remaining on his deal his ties to the club could be cut short at any time.
Chicago may actively pursue adding one arm on the free agent market – particularly to provide a strong lead for the young players comprising most of the roster – but adding multiple pitchers would seem unlikely. While Peavy and Lester may be hoping to reunite on the North Side, the signing of one might preclude the signing of the other.