SAN DIEGO — The Padres traded away a Cy Young Award winner Friday, but general manager Kevin Towers is hoping that the haul of four young pitchers the team received in return will pay dividends for a long time to come.
“Maybe there’s a Jake Peavy in the bunch.” Towers said.
On Friday, the Padres pulled off a Trade Deadline shocker that didn’t involve their two All-Stars, Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell, who were the central points of talks Towers had with other teams.
Instead, Towers traded Peavy for four pitchers, all under 26, including the prized arm of the deal, 22-year-old left-hander Aaron Poreda.
“For us, we think it was a good baseball deal,” Towers said.
That, of course, remains to be seen, though the Padres were certainly excited to land the four pitchers, Poreda, left-hander Clayton Richard, who will get a start Saturday against Milwaukee, and right-handers Aaron Russell and Dexter Carter.
It was a move White Sox general manger Kenny Williams had been thinking about since May, when Peavy first rebuffed Chicago, using his no-trade clause to veto a deal that he agreed to on Friday.
In order to land Peavy, Williams gave up four pitchers that were part of the White Sox future, pitchers he was excited about.
“To get a No. 1, you have to pay the price,” Williams said. “Clayton Richard, we believe, especially going to the National League and in San Diego’s ballpark, I told him, ‘You are about to be a very successful and rich man. You are going to do well over there.’”
“Aaron Poreda, as well, and Dexter Carter is coming and Russell has improved since you last saw him. So, yes, we paid the price, but I’m not averse to doing that if you get what you want and the opportunity.”
Richard, 25, is 4-3 with a 4.65 ERA in 26 games (14 starts) with the White Sox in 2009. He will slide into the starting rotation.
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