Cubs’ Rizzo, Sox’ Peavy hot topics
Well, that’s that.
The preseason is over and that means baseball season is officially under way in Chicago.
It began in earnest Monday night. Up until then, the city was distracted by Blackhawks playoffs, the Bears’ draft, Bulls postseason and the Derrick Rose injury.
That was followed closely by the White Sox and Cubs in the Circus Series at Wrigley Field, but with that concluded reality has set in and suddenly both teams have big decisions to make.
At least, that’s the narrative, if not an actuality.
In truth, the Cubs don’t have to do anything any time soon. They knew this was a lost season and they’ve been trying for six months to dump bad contracts and maximize value on potential free agents.
They will continue to do that while preparing for the draft.
They don’t want to bring up Anthony Rizzo too soon because they’re trying to delay adding to his service time, which currently sits at 68 days after he played a couple of months for the Padres last season.
A full season of service time is 172 days, so if the Cubs call him up after June 22, Rizzo will be short a full year and the Cubs will essentially have Rizzo under control for six more years after this season.
Dave Sveum talked about possibly having Rizzo here for a road interleague series June 8 in Minnesota or June 18 on the South Side.
The Cubs could conceivably call him up for a couple of weeks, send him back down for a few more weeks, and then bring him back after they move some bodies at the July trade deadline, thus ensuring he doesn’t collect a full 172 days.
Until Rizzo arrives — and probably after — the Cubs will be hard to watch, which comes as no surprise to anyone understanding the rebuilding process.
As for the White Sox, the end of the weekend series brought the inevitable talk of player movement, but it’s premature to be discussing a fire sale when the Sox are hanging around the Tigers.
They won’t be interested in those kinds of conversations unless they fall hopelessly out of the race, and while that could happen between now and July 31, it’s not on their radar at the moment.
Matt Thornton and Jesse Crain are signed through 2013 at reasonable numbers, so they will be very popular targets. Gavin Floyd is headed for free agency after the season. A.J. Pierzynski is also in the final year of his deal and having a great season, but he has 10-and-5 veto rights.
The big name everyone wants to talk about is Jake Peavy, who is carrying a $17 million contract this season, along with a $22 million club option for 2013 and a $4 million buyout.
Peavy is pitching well, and, with free agency looming, desperate teams are already scouting him.
There are eight teams to which Peavy can’t be traded, and most assume they are the Oaklands and Pittsburghs of the world, but it’s actually the opposite.
The small-market teams can’t take on Peavy’s contract, so there’s no need to block them. No, the teams on his list are big-market clubs.
Agents do this to give a player leverage. If a team like Boston or New York wants to deal for Peavy, he probably would ask for another year added to his contract, maybe even two.
For example, when the Sox first tried to acquire Peavy in 2009, he said he would do it only if the Sox picked up his $22 million option for 2013. That was a deal-breaker.
Months later when Peavy was fed up with the situation in San Diego, he waived his no-trade without a sweetener.
Something else to keep in mind is that Peavy has learned to love Chicago during his three years here. He feels like he owes the Sox his best after injury problems derailed much of his tenure, and he wouldn’t mind sticking around.
“I do love it here,” Peavy said when I asked him about it before the series with the Cubs. “My hope is for the team to win and I can be here and continue to help.
“I love this coaching staff and I love this team and this town. I don’t want to leave. I have really fallen for Robin (Ventura) and his staff. I have a great relationship with Coop (pitching coach Don Cooper). That’s been questioned by others, and that’s completely false.
“I love the situation. I don’t ever want to talk about leaving. If (GM) Kenny Williams approaches me, I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. My hope is that day never comes.”
Peavy wants to win, and if the Sox’ season becomes hopeless he might OK a trade to a contender with something added to his deal.
But it also doesn’t preclude Peavy re-signing here after the season even if he’s dealt, and as well as he’s pitching, maybe the Sox will have seen enough by July to tear up his option/buyout and sign him for a couple of years, perhaps even for that aforementioned $22 million.
In any case, much can happen between now and July. One way to ensure the conversation never occurs is for the Sox to stay in the race.
And Jake Peavy will have a lot to say about that, too.
brozner@dailyherald.com
ŸListen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score’s “Hit and Run” show at WSCR 670-AM, and follow him @BarryRozner on Twitter.