The Atlanta Braves are out of the Jake Peavy sweepstakes. “We have moved on,” Braves general manager Frank Wren told FOXSports.com on Friday. “We had our last discussion with San Diego yesterday and let them know that if the final names we were discussing wouldn’t get it done, we would move on to other opportunities, other possibilities.”
The Braves will now pursue starting pitchers on the free agent market, and their targets include right-handers Derek Lowe, A.J. Burnett and Ryan Dempster.
Wren did not rule out a possible revival of discussions with the Padres, but if the Braves sign other players, their payroll flexibility would decrease.
The Cubs, the other team in the heaviest pursuit of Peavy, remain interested in acquiring him, sources say. The team is intent on adding one starting pitcher, whether it’s trading for Peavy, re-signing Dempster as a free agent, or finding another pitcher. Left-hander Randy Johnson is one of the free-agent pitchers in whom the Cubs are interested.
The Braves were offering a package of shortstop Yunel Escobar, either right-hander Charlie Morton or left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes, Class A outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, plus a fourth player, either reliever Blaine Boyer or a minor league pitcher.
Padres general manager Kevin Towers told the San Diego Union-Tribune on Thursday that he may seek to trade Peavy to the Yankees or Angels because of his inability to reach an agreement with the Braves or Cubs.
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