An Atlanta Braves trade that never was
By James Kunkle
About 12 years ago, it seemed like Jake Peavy was on the verge of being an Atlanta Braves pitcher. Let’s reexamine that discussion.
At the end of the 2008 season, an argument could have been made that San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy might have been the best pitcher in the game.
If nothing else, he was certainly top 10 along with names like Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, Johan Santana, and Brandon Webb.
The San Diego Padres were in dire need of a rebuild (one that they are now seeing the rewards starting for) and Jake Peavy was the most obvious trade chip that could land them a good amount of young talent they desperately needed.
On the flip side, the Atlanta Braves were fresh off a below .500 season and also had to watch the division rival Philadelphia Phillies celebrate winning the world series.
The Atlanta Braves pitching was in dire need of upgrading and it seemed getting Peavy was just what the proverbial doctor was in need of ordering.
The Braves rotation after 2008 was basically Tim Hudson, followed by Jair Jurrjens, and then a bunch of question marks to follow.
It seemed the entire month of November, the rumor’s were daily about Jake Peavy coming to Atlanta and it seemed it was a matter of when and not if it was going to happen.
I remember being a late teenager and going on all the rumor sites then almost hourly to see if it was going to happen. I wanted Jake Peavy on the Atlanta Braves in a bad way.
It’s easy to see why as well. Jake Peavy won the NL Cy Young in 2007 and even on a terrible Padres team in 2008, he somehow went 10-11 with a 2.85 ERA and was coming off his 6th straight season of making at least 27 starts.
Not to mention he was coming with a ton of team control because the season before he had signed a contract extension.