If the Padres were to be talking deal with the Cubs than surely Ronny Cedeno would be a throw-in. Hence a team that is already in line to lose 100 games would not go out and sign the ancient Omar Vizquel to play shortstop.

as we have no shortage of “Scrappiness” around here (see Theriot, Fontenot)

I find it hard to believe that this discourages any Peavy trade talks whatsoever. Eckstein could easily be headed to 2b which leaves the Pads still looking for a SS. Now it doesn’t have to be Ronny Cedeno (or Theriot!) but it doesn’t slam the door on anything either. We are obviously waiting on new owner approval for any new deals and the Pads have to cut payroll (so they’ve said) so a one-year signing of a mif doesn’t shine alot of light on anything.

I think the idea that they would have Ronny Cedeno as a target was always a bit overrated. Cedeno (and Pie for that matter) aren’t ideal offensive fits for what the Padres front office desires. Doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have taken them as throw ins. Keep in mind, though, that they already took Everth Cabrera in the Rule 5 draft, and most indications are he’ll make the roster.

I imagine they added Eckstein to play 2nd and dabble short if need be. They are also talking Omar Vizquel. The idea may be to buy some time, with Everth as a swing option. They do have fairly decent 2nd base depth – Matt Antonelli isn’t as good as he seemed 2 years ago, but most people expect a bounce back year in 09, Travis Denker was always overhyped by some Giants fans but is a decent 2nd base talent, and Eric Sogard is someone I am a fan of.

Short of it is, I wouldn’t read too much into the Eckstein signing having any implications on a Peavy deal. Not saying a Peavy deal will or won’t happen (I think that comes down solely on new ownership’s call), but the Peavy deal was always geared towards adding pitching for the Padres. They have fairly solid positional depth in the minors, but are lacking in arms. I imagine that a Peavy trade could be done even if we didn’t have Pie and Cedeno (and Bruce noted in his thread that this is true for Pie). The reason the Padres were pursuing a Gorkys Hernandez and Yunel Escobar from Atlanta is because Gorkys potential and Yunel being a good regular. Whether or not it is fair, Pie’s star has dimmed enough that he probably isn’t viewed on the same plane as Gorkys, and Cedeno isn’t viewed as anywhere close to Yunel.

a smart gm would never come out and say they have no interest in guy like peavy.let,s not spend all season salivating over peavy.