Phillies rumored to be a part of 4-team deal involving Jake Peavy

The Phillies may be involved in the long-rumored Jake Peavy trade, but not in a way you should get too excited about.  Apparently the Phillies, Cubs, Orioles and Padres are having talks about a four team trade that would send Peavy from San Diego to Chicago.  Philadelphia's involvement in the deal would be as a middle man, they would send J.A. Happ and probably another prospect to the Padres and they would get back Mark DeRosa from the Cubs.  The other big names in the deal would be Felix Pie, who would end up in Baltimore, and Sean Marshall and Garrett Olson, who would end up in San Diego.

While this deal seems impossibly complicated and is very likely to fall through, it is still interesting to look at from the Phillies perspective.  Once the initial disappointment that the Phils won't end up with Peavy wears off, you are left with the idea that the Phillies will be getting Chase Utley's injury replacement and a pretty good utility player in Mark DeRosa.  While I don't love the idea of giving up on J.A. Happ, especially since he was supposed to challenge for a spot in the rotation this year, DeRosa would be a solid addition to the lineup with 20+ home run potential and a .280 average.  When Utley comes back, DeRosa would then be a super-utility player who can play first, third and both corner outfield positions.  Heck, DeRosa even played an inning at short last year.

While everything is purely speculation at this point, it's nice to see the Phillies are being proactive about trying to improve the club.  They have also been rumored to be in talks with the Twins about acquiring outfielder Delmon Young.  These World Champions don't plan on sitting back, they are actively trying to improve the club.  Let's see what they manage to pull off.