The Yakker

Peavy isn't going to like his new home ballpark.

It was a busy day in the AL Central and while the major players all made moves, the one that appears of the highest profile could actually be the one that brings in the least return. The deal I am referring to is the one that sent Jake Peavy to the White Sox for pitchers Clayton Richard, Adam Russell, Dexter Carter, and Aaron Poreda.

The most glaring issue is the tendon Peavy tore in his right ankle in early June. He has progressed in his rehab and could return to the mound sometime in August. While the run support he’ll get from the Pale Hose lineup will be noticeably better, he’ll probably need it.

Obviously the move from Petco and to the American League are two strikes against Peavy. In the NL he gets to face a pitcher once in every nine batters which he’ll no longer get the benefit of in the AL. The change in ballpark is exaggerated by the fact he arrives at one of the most homer friendly ballparks in baseball. This combined with the fact his fly ball ratio has been climbing steadily ever since a career-best mark back in 2006.

Another interesting split is his home versus road ERA, which is 3.58 and 4.60 respectively. This coincidental stat runs parallel to the same split when you consider his career totals. It’s not difficult to anticipate a further slide in his home numbers given the less than nurturing confines of U.S. Cellular Field (his new home).

It seems the debate now is over where Peavy will rank among starting pitchers both this season and beyond. Some experts are debating whether or not he’d be in their top 10 fantasy pitchers next season if he’s 100 percent healthy and I honestly don’t think that is what we should be debating. My opinion on this is far more extreme. In fact, I’ll go on record in saying I would rather have Poreda than Peavy next season. That doesn’t mean Poreda will be among the elite, it simply clarifies the massive collapse I expect from the veteran Peavy.