Ho-hum:
The Padres again have asked the Braves to revise their proposal for right-hander Jake Peavy, requesting that the team substitute Single-A catcher Tyler Flowers for Single-A center fielder Gorkys Hernandez, according to major-league sources.
Flowers, 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, is tearing up the Arizona Fall League, and the Braves probably are unwilling to part with him in the same package as shortstop Yunel Escobar and either right-hander Charlie Morton or left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes. Frankly, they're not thrilled with trading any of those players.
The Cubs and Padres, meanwhile, continue to discuss the same list of six to eight names from which the Padres would choose in a deal for Peavy. The Padres then would have the option of spinning one or more of those players to other clubs.
One rival GM poses a good question: Why are the Braves so willing to trade Escobar? When the Braves included shortstop Elvis Andrus in their package for Teixeria 16 months ago, club officials reasoned that Escobar could man the position for the next six years.
Well, Escobar is part of the price to get Peavy. The Braves believe that Brent Lillibridge would be a lesser hitter than Escobar but a superior defender, further benefiting their pitching staff.
That was from Ken Rosenthal. Interesting take on why we're willing to include Escobar, and the first major media outlet that's said Lillibridge (and he got his first name right this time) would be the guy to replace Escobar despite the drop in offense.
This is also the first I've heard about T-Flow being part of the trade instead of Gorkys. I've said from the beginning of this off-season that Flowers is a prime candidate to be included in any trade, and I wonder if the organization may feel the same way -- preferring to trade him over Gorkys. (There's a puff piece on Flowers in the AJC.) It seems like Flowers would have more value than Gorkys right now.