Comments (0)

By Logert, August 1, 2009 2:28 pm

SAN DIEGO — A day after the Padres dealt ace Jake Peavy to the White Sox, one of the four pitchers acquired in the trade will make his first start for San Diego.

Instead of preparing to start Friday against the Yankees at U.S. Cellular Field, lefty pitcher Clayton Richard packed his bags for the move to the West Coast.

Richard takes the mound Saturday for the second game in the Padres’ three-game series against the Brewers at PETCO Park. Richard replaces scheduled starter Edward Mujica, who was promoted from the bullpen earlier this week to replace struggling Josh Geer in the Padres’ rotation.

Richard said Friday he was “pretty surprised” to be moving to San Diego after Peavy accepted the trade to Chicago.

“I really just thought he didn’t want to come over here,” he said. “He turned it down and it was put to rest. Then, out of nowhere, it happens again. But I’m excited to go over there. We’ll see how it goes.”

Richard (4-3) has made 26 appearances, with 14 starts, this season for the White Sox. He’s tossed eight innings in each of his two most recent starts, allowing just two runs on nine hits in his last 16 innings of work.

Comments (0)

By Logert, August 1, 2009 1:44 pm

SAN DIEGO — The Padres traded away a Cy Young Award winner Friday, but general manager Kevin Towers is hoping that the haul of four young pitchers the team received in return will pay dividends for a long time to come.

“Maybe there’s a Jake Peavy in the bunch.” Towers said.

On Friday, the Padres pulled off a Trade Deadline shocker that didn’t involve their two All-Stars, Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell, who were the central points of talks Towers had with other teams.

Instead, Towers traded Peavy for four pitchers, all under 26, including the prized arm of the deal, 22-year-old left-hander Aaron Poreda.

“For us, we think it was a good baseball deal,” Towers said.

That, of course, remains to be seen, though the Padres were certainly excited to land the four pitchers, Poreda, left-hander Clayton Richard, who will get a start Saturday against Milwaukee, and right-handers Aaron Russell and Dexter Carter.

It was a move White Sox general manger Kenny Williams had been thinking about since May, when Peavy first rebuffed Chicago, using his no-trade clause to veto a deal that he agreed to on Friday.

In order to land Peavy, Williams gave up four pitchers that were part of the White Sox future, pitchers he was excited about.

“To get a No. 1, you have to pay the price,” Williams said. “Clayton Richard, we believe, especially going to the National League and in San Diego’s ballpark, I told him, ‘You are about to be a very successful and rich man. You are going to do well over there.’”

“Aaron Poreda, as well, and Dexter Carter is coming and Russell has improved since you last saw him. So, yes, we paid the price, but I’m not averse to doing that if you get what you want and the opportunity.”

Richard, 25, is 4-3 with a 4.65 ERA in 26 games (14 starts) with the White Sox in 2009. He will slide into the starting rotation.