Jake Peavy: What The Yankees Need?

The hot stove season has begun in earnest.  Everything you can read about the Yankees is that their first and last priority is starting pitching.  Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman has said that his team needs more than one starting pitcher either through free agency or trade.

The San Diego Padres are apparently in the mood to trade Jake Peavy and the Yankees may be interested in the 27—year old right hander.  Part of the discussion is that Peavy can be fitted for pinstripes if Cashman puts together the right package including Yankee second baseman Robinson Cano.

It remains unclear what else would have to be included in that package on either side.  Would the Padres demand a starting pitcher along with Cano for Peavy?  Would the Yankees look for a middle infielder with a bat to replace Cano?  The Padres have also indicated they want to trade shortstop Khalil Greene, but his offensive numbers can't match Cano's.  None of that is clear.

But the first question that should be asked is whether Peavy really fits any of the needs of the Yankees for the coming year.  Yes he is a starting pitcher. Yes, he is young.  But, will he fill the needs the Yankees have said they must have?  All indications have been that they are looking for the stud starter, the ace, the stopper.  Is Peavy that?

His record would indicate that that answer is no.  For the '08 season, he had a record of 10 wins and 11 losses with a 2.85 ERA.  That was pitching in the weakest division in all of baseball where the biggest question is often whether any team will finish with a winning record.  Admittedly, he was pitching for a very weak team whose final record was 63-99.

But, if he comes to the American League East, he will not be facing San Francisco and Arizona.  He will be in the mix where the Yankees will play 57 games against Boston, Tampa Bay, and Toronto.  He will consistently have to face American League hitters where he can't work his way through lineups where weak seven and eight hitters are followed by the pitcher.

It would seem apparent that if Peavy comes to the American League East his ERA will balloon.  In one recent year, he had an ERA over 4.00 while pitching in San Diego.  There is no reason to believe that he could possibly fill the role as a No. 1 starter in the toughest division in baseball if he comes to New York.

Surely C.C. Sabathia and A. J. Burnett are both better choices for the Yankees and with those two, no package including the likes of Cano would be required, just a lot of cash.  The Yankees could keep a second baseman who has a great future ahead of him and really get a stud, something that will not be possible in a trade for Peavy.

If Sabathia or Burnett is available to go with Wang, Chamberlain, and Hughes, where would Peavy fit in.  Mussina may be coming back to New York and he was only a 20 game winner last year.  Pettite had a better record than Peavy pitching in a much tougher league.  He would certainly be a better choice than the Padres pitcher and New York would give up nothing but money.  And, Andy has already indicated he wants to pitch in the New Yankee Stadium. 

The only advantage to Peavy over Pettite or Mussina is obviously his age.  But, he is not proven that he is the quality the Yankees need.  If the Bronx Bombers cannot get a true top line starter, Sabathia, Burnett, or Derek Lowe, they will be better off to put their money in Texiera and a centerfielder and rely on the proven pitchers they have. 

Yankee fans may be tired of experimenting with National League pitchers, like Brown, Pavano, and Johnson.   They have pitchers in Wang, Chamberlain, Hughes, Pettite, and Mussina who have proven they can pitch in the American League East.  Peavy is a risk at best.