Red Sox trade rumors: Jake Peavy deal could happen soon

Yesterday was a hectic day of Jake Peavy rumors, as the Cardinals appeared to be making an aggressive push to acquire the right-hander from the Red Sox and the Braves also joined the race for him. As the day progressed, conflicting reports surfaced regarding the likelihood of a Peavy deal, with some reports making a deal appear likely and some downplaying the chances that Peavy gets dealt to St. Louis.

Here's what we do know: The Red Sox are currently engaged in trade talks involving Peavy with the Cardinals and Braves, according to a report from Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. Abraham reports that they are "prepared to trade him", echoing an earlier report from ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that said "things could happen quick" between the Sox and Cardinals on a deal. Abraham added late Tuesday night that Peavy has talked to Red Sox GM Ben Cherington about the possibility of a deal, meaning that things could be getting serious.

On the contrary, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Cardinals are looking for offense at the moment, and that there's no match on a Peavy deal with Joe Kelly about to return to the team's rotation. Cardinals GM John Mozeliak later told Goold that the team would probably have to give up one of their starters to acquire a top starter from another team, though Peavy is not regarded as a top starter and may not have been the subject of Mozeliak's comments.

As rumors surfaced throughout the day, names like Allen Craig, Randal Grichuk, Stephen Piscotty and Jon Jay were floated as potential targets for the Red Sox, who are on the lookout for outfield help. One major league source believes that the Cardinals are trying to trade either Craig or Matt Adams to assure that rookie Oscar Taveras gets 500 plate appearances on the year, and that Craig could be dealt to the Red Sox or Mets before the trade deadline.

Speculation heated up about a potential deal when two of Boston's potential targets--Craig and Grichuk--were kept out of their team's lineups. Despite this, one league source cautioned to "not necessarily read anything into [Craig] not being in the lineup", and Grichuk ended up pinch-hitting for Triple-A Memphis in the seventh inning of their game.

Don't you just love trade season?