It’s been widely reported since the failure of the Padres-Cubs supposed trade that would have sent ace Jake Peavy to the Cubs, the Los Angeles Angels have entered into talks with the Padres to acquire Peavy. Acquiring Peavy from the Padres would be difficult not only because of the caliber of trade, but also because of the fact that Peavy prefers the National League and would require significant “persuasion” (money) to change leagues.

So what are the Angels chances of actually landing Peavy? Better than you might think.

Based on everything reported from Padres GM Kevin Towers, the Angels would be able to fill the holes the Padres want to fill (shortstop, starting and relief pitching, outfielder) and they could do so with higher caliber players than were being offered by the Cubs.

In one report on MLB.com, Lyle Spencer suggested that the Padres were looking for a package of Brandon Wood, Nick Adenhart and Kevin Jepsen. As a fan, I’d be a little leary of the Angels trading both Wood and Adenhart. Adenhart may be another year off, but he still has an enormously high ceiling. Brandon Wood, to me anyway, looks like a break-out candidate for 2009, so it would take a lot to pry him away.

Instead of that package, I would expect Angels GM Tony Reagins to offer something along the lines of Adenhart, shortstop Erick Aybar, one of Kevin Jepsen or Jason Bulger, and one of Reggie Willits or Terry Evans. If the Padres were offered a package of Adenhart/Aybar/Jepsen/Willits, I’d have to think they’d take it, considering it not only fills all their needs, but also gives them young, cheap talent they can control for many years.

Unfortunately, we won’t know until a deal is struck who will be included, but you can bet that if a deal is going to get done between the Angels and Padres, Aybar and Adenhart would almost certainly be in the deal. This would not only help out San Diego, but it would also clear up a starting role for uber-prospect Brandon Wood and give the Angels the most dominant rotation in the Majors.

Related posts

• 2009 Spring Training Preview: Angels (0)
• Post-Game Report: Angels v. Rangers (8/31/08) (0)
• Game 3: Athletics 6 Angels 4 (0)
• To Platoon or Not to Platoon (3)
• The Brandon Wood experiment put on hold (0)