No Surprise, Peavy Rejects Trade to Chicago

After all the talk throughout the day, Padres' ace Jake Peavy has decided not to waive his no-trade clause and will remain with the San Diego Padres, according to those close to the Peavy camp.

Early Thursday morning, news broke that the Padres were in talks with the Chicago White Sox about sending Peavy to Chicago for four pitching prospects, two of them were among the top prospects in the White Sox farm system. Rumors flew, the airwaves in San Diego and Chicago blew up about the possible trade and what Peavy might say. Would he waive his no-trade clause and go to Chicago or would he veto the trade and stay put in San Diego?

As the late morning turned into late afternoon, there were quotes that came out from Peavy's agent Barry Axelrod, stating Peavy would much rather be moved to another National League team and would prefer not to pitch in the American League.

Peavy might have thought hard about going to Chicago because he called former teammate Scott Linebrink, a current reliever for the White Sox, and asked about the team and playing in Chicago.

"I did have a chance to talk to him yesterday," Linebrink told the Chicago Sun-Times. "He just had some questions about the team over here, and I was encouraged by Kenny to go ahead and talk to him and answer any questions he had. Of course I answered all his questions, but when it comes down to it, it's his decision."

So after talking it over with Linebrink and, I'm sure, multiple discussions with his family, Jake decided it wasn't time to move on with his career and informed the Padres' front office that he would not waive his no-trade clause to be traded to the Chicago White Sox.

Instead, Jake will make the start for the San Diego Padres on Friday night against another team he was almost traded to, the Chicago Cubs. After a dominant complete game outing against the Cincinnati Reds this past Monday, he'll look to keep the Padres on the winning side of things after the team won their sixth straight on Thursday night.

The Padres, though they weren't able to move Peavy, did make a trade prior to their game on Thursday night against the Giants. They brought the Tony Gwynn Jr back to San Diego, trading Jody Gerut to Milwaukee for the son of arguably the most famous Padre of all time, that of course being THE Tony Gwynn. Gwynn was expected to be in uniform against the Giants but there was no indication whether he was going to get the start or come off the bench.

For now, the trade winds have halted but in the back of Peavy's mind, the winds will start blowing again. It's just a matter of time.

Padres Sign Chad Gaudin

Just hours after the San Diego Padres defeated the San Francisco Giants for the 2nd straight night, Padres' General Manager Kevin Towers added yet another reliever to their bullpen.

The Padres signed 26-year old Chad Gaudin to a minor league contract after he was released by the Chicago Cubs on April 6th.

Gaudin really struggled during Spring Training with the Cubs, allowing 19 earned runs on 26 hits in just 16 2/3 innings. They will still owe him $1.2 million of his $2 million salary in 2009.

The Cubs had obtained Gaudin in the trade that sent Rich Harden to Oakland. Gaudin was 4-2 with a 6.26 ERA in 24 appearances for the Cubs in 2008. He has a career record of 28-25 and a 4.45 ERA in the Major Leagues.

Padres' GM Kevin Towers discusses Peavy trade

We all know the trade talk that has swirled around right-hander Jake Peavy. We know the talk that went on during the off-season, first it was the Braves then it was the Cubs then all talks broke off and Peavy remained with the Padres.

SI.com's Jon Heyman talked to Padres' GM Kevin Towers about the possibility of Peavy being traded prior to the trade deadline, to which Towers responded, "If we start spinning our wheels, we might engage in discussions."

Buster Olney also talked to Towers about the possibility and Towers gave him about the same answer, though he's not wanting to think about trading Peavy until the team is way out of contention.

If discussions do start again and the Padres do make Peavy available, interested teams have to know that San Diego is going to be asking for a lot in return. The main reason for why trade talks broke down with Atlanta and Chicago although Olney says the Cubs were a lot closer to landing Peavy than a lot of people thought.

Cubs' 6-run 1st does in Maddux, Padres

Greg Maddux's former team didn't waste any time jumping all over him in the 1st inning. The Padres' right-hander gave up 6 runs (1 ER) in the first inning alone, allowing the first 5 Cub batters to reach base.

Maddux finished the day giving up 7 runs (2 ER) on 7 hits, walking 2 and striking out 4 in 4 innings of work in a 7-3 loss. Wil Ledezma, Trevor Hoffman and Enrique Gonzalez combined for 5 shutout innings behind Maddux, giving up just 5 hits, 2 walks and 2 strikeouts.

Cubs' right-hander Jason Marquis also had a rough first inning, giving up all 3 Padre runs in the 1st inning, a 3-run HR by 1st baseman Adrian Gonzalez his first of the spring. His next 3 1/3 innings were almost perfect, giving up just 1 hit and striking out five.

Next up for San Diego, they'll be in Tempe to face the Los Angeles (don't call me Anaheim) Angels. Left-hander Randy Wolf will get the start for the Padres, Ervin Santana will go for the Angels. Game time is 1:05pm.

CY goes 7 strong in win over Royals

If Chris Young didn't look season ready before, he does now. The big 6'10" Padres' right-hander pitched 7 strong innings, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday.

Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi got the scoring started with a 2-run HR in the 5th inning, scoring Callix Crabbe who singled prior to the HR. The score stayed tied until the 10th inning when pinch-hitter Jose Lobaton's bloop single scored the winning run in the 10th. Adrian Gonzalez (.355) had a double and a single in 3 at bats.

Up next for the Padres, they will be at home in Peoria to face the Chicago Cubs. Greg Maddux will get the start against his former team opposite Jason Marquis. Game time is 1:05pm.

Padres' offense quiet, fall to Cubs in the 9th

Padres' starter, right-hander Greg Maddux had to exit after 2 innings of work with a thigh bruise after getting hit with a line drive off the bat of Cubs' 1st baseman Derek Lee.

Callix Crabbe and Marshall McDougall seemed to be the only highlights for the San Diego Padres this afternoon in a 3-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

McDougall hit his first HR of the spring, a solo shot in the 7th inning against left-hander Sean Marshall, he also walked 3 times and scored on an RBI single from Callix Crabbe in the 5th. Speaking of Crabbe, he had a good afternoon as well finishing 3-for-4 with an RBI. Crabbe is currently hitting .364 this spring.

Starter Greg Maddux was scheduled to pitch 4 innings, but after leaving with a thigh bruise after 2, Mark Gardner replaced him going 2 innings and giving up 1 run on 3 hits and walking 2. Wil Ledezma pitched an impressive 4 innings, giving 1 run (unearned) on 2 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts.

For the Cubs, Ryan Theriot and Sam Fuld both drove in 1 run a piece, as did pinch-hitter Alex Cintron who had the game winning 2-out single in the bottom of the 9th off Padres' reliever Carlos Guevara.

Starter Jason Marquis went 4 innings allowing 0 runs on 2 hits, walking and striking out 2. Left-hander Sean Marshall went 3 innings, 2 runs (1 ER), 1 walk and 2 strikeouts for the Cubs.

Next up for the San Diego Padres, they will host the Milwaukee Brewers tomorrow night at the Peoria Sports Complex. Left-hander Randy Wolf will get the start for the Padres. Game time is schedule for 7:05pm.

Also, stay tuned to San Diego Channel 4 tomorrow tonight starting at 10pm PST as the Padres will play Game 1 of 2 against the Los Angeles Dodgers from Beijing, China.

Gabe Gross could be in Padres' plan

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Padres are still looking for more left field options, but their talks with the Cubs for Matt Murton fizzled out because the Cubs are wanting major league help in return.

That being said, another name that has popped up as a possibility is Brewers' outfielder Gabe Gross who is also getting interest from the A's and Indians.

As of right now, the Padres have Scott Hairston, Chase Headley, Jody Gerut and Jeff DaVanon vying for the LF opening. I'd imagine that Hairston is the odds on favorite to be the opening day starter, but don't count out Jody Gerut.