Andrew Richardson-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Red Sox are going through a dismal season, with a 47-57 record after a loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday. They are clearly sellers ahead of next Thursday’s non-waiver trade deadline, and that process started Saturday with starting pitcher Jake Peavy being dealt to the San Francisco Giants for two prospects.
Peavy is 1-9 with a 4.72 ERA over his 20 starts (124 innings) for the Red Sox this year, and he’s set to make his debut for the Giants Sunday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Will the move back to the National League boost Peavy’s fantasy value?
Peavy had a 92-68 record with a 3.29 ERA over seven-plus seasons (212 starts) for the San Diego Padres from 2002-2009, including a Cy Young Award-winning season in 2007 (19-6, 2.54 ERA, 223.1 innings). Since being traded in July of 2009 Peavy has pitched exclusively in the American League, first for the Chicago White Sox and of course more recently with Boston.
Let’s take a closer look at Peavy’s career numbers at the parks of the National League West:
AT&T Park: 8-5, 3.90 ERA over 14 starts (87.2 innings)
Petco Park: 38-27, 2.74 ERA over 90 starts (592 innings)
Dodger Stadium: 7-1, 2.85 ERA over 13 starts (82 innings)
Chase Field: 5-7, 5.77 ERA over 14 starts (78 innings)
Peavy’s sample size at Petco Park is obviously significant from his time with the Padres, and his struggles at Chase Field can be expected since that is the most hitter-friendly park in the division and it’s not particularly close. He has allowed a tied for American League-high 20 home runs this season, but simply not having home games at Fenway Park or the prospect of road outings at some of the other parks in the American League East should help Peavy in that area down the stretch.
Peavy is available in over half of Yahoo! leagues right now, but that may change dramatically if he pitches well on Sunday night. So now may be the time to add him if you need pitching help, and there’s a fair amount of upside here over the rest of the season even though Peavy is no longer in his prime at age-33.
Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter or connect on Google +.
