The Braves may yet end up with Padres ace Jake Peavy before the season starts; the fact that general manager Frank Wren pulled out of the sweepstakes as free agency began doesn't mean a trade couldn't still materialize. Remember, though, that the key is more Peavy himself than it is the package the Braves might be willing to send to San Diego.
Peavy wields the power because he has a no-trade clause, which is serving him well at the moment. And he should enjoy it, because if he ever signs a deal with the Braves, he won't get one. Refusing to give no-trade clauses and long-term contracts -- longer than four years -- was iron-clad with former GM John Schuerholz, and Wren appreciates that flexibility. But as long as he is more or less in the driver's seat, Peavy wants to assess the prospects of any team he might go to. If the Braves appear less than attractive to him, despite the fact that he has a home in Alabama, it is because he is not sold on their chances of making the playoffs. That isn't a perception any team wants out there at any time, never mind just before winter meetings, when the free agent frenzy begins.
If the Braves can douse the notion that they won't be serious competitors in 2009, they'll look better to free agents. And Wren will be able to construct his rotation without giving up anything.
Beneath all this is the question: Is Peavy right? Are the Braves as currently constructed not playoff material?
For that we will have to wait for those free agent signings. A.J. Burnett's agent, Darek Braunecker, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Braves are one of six teams negotiating with the free agent right-hander. The Braves have plenty of room for him, Peavy or both in their rotation. Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Mike Hampton are all free agents, and Hampton signed with the Astros.
Right-hander Tommy Hanson, who tore up the Arizona Fall League, may be a longshot to make the club out of spring training, but no one would be shocked if he did. So maybe the Braves don't need Peavy after all.
