The Padres actually spending some serious money to improve the team? It sounds like this might be the case with the whispers that Jake Peavy is close to a new deal and Ken Rosenthal reporting that they are serious players for Kosuke Fukudome. Meanwhile, the Dodgers are apparently the likely destination for Andruw Jones. This move to me would signal that the Dodgers would then try to use Matt Kemp as a centerpiece in a deal for Dan Haren or Erik Bedard -unless Florida comes to its senses in demands for Miguel Cabrera.

Evidence of a similar misread of the market -but not nearly to the extent of the Marlins- can be found in Arizona's dealing Carlos Quentin for White Sox prospect Chris Carter. The move signals that the Diamondbacks weren't getting the kind of interest in the outfielder that they expected, as their stated intent heading into the offseason was to find out if they could deal one or more of their excess outfielders for rotation help. They could have, but for the caliber of pitcher that they were after that would have required parting with either Chris Young or Justin Upton, which was a choice they wisely wouldn't make. Of course, the downside to that choice is their rotation still looks shaky for next season, even if they are able to get Hideki Kuroda, which at this point seems unlikely given the interest from other teams willing to outbid them by a fair margin.

The latest on the Rockies has them looking at both Mark Loretta and Marcus Giles, as well as listening to the Boston Red Sox about Brian Fuentes. I really don't know if the Sox are the best fit, Amy Nelson suggests Jed Lowrie might be part of what we're looking at if we were to make a trade with our World Series buds.

BroJB picked up on the Pirates possible interest in Jamey Carroll so long as the Rockies are willing to eat salary. If it actually means getting Damaso Marte, I think the team should strongly consider it anyway. Carroll's value to the 2008 squad isn't likely to go far beyond what other players on hand will provide, while we Marte would plug the hole vacated by Jeremy Affeldt with a legitimate upgrade. What's more, trading Fuentes would at that point be an easier choice to make and we'd likely get better offers after cornering much of the available by trade southpaw relief market.