The guy in Double-A also has a pretty good ceiling, but the bottom line here is it would be a move driven by economics. Am not saying it will happen. From what I am hearing, Peavy will be pitching for the Padres on Friday. For what it's worth, a bona fide No. 3 starting pitcher who is getting a relatively low salary has pretty good value.

Good track record  on trades. Good people skills.  Farm system has underachieved for most of his tenure. Got to taken ownership into account as well. Upper management turnover  above Towers also has been an issue.  SDP have been under-captitalized for many of those years. No question, though, the farm system has been a disappointment for most of that time. And that's extra critical when you're not going to carry a big or even a medium payroll.  

You need to differentiate the FO from ownership. Moores told the FO to cut the payroll to about $40 million. Plain and simple. Towers said it point blank in our paper last winter. We were hearing the $40 million number last August. The FO went on the radio and attacked that report, but they probably had to do that. Basically the payroll decision starts with Moores. We reported that Alderson tried to get Moores to keep a $15 million cash call in place that would have allowed for a $55 million payroll and more meat on the bone. No dice.

As of this morning, Peavy's agent said that Peavy hadn't been asked to approve or veto a trade. The agent's comments suggest Peavy wants more time to think things over.