Mike Lowell Trade Rumor

Buster Olney of ESPN.com is reporting in his daily blog that the Red Sox have had discussions with the San Diego Padres about thirdbaseman Mike Lowell. Olney does not have any names that the Sox would receive in return for Lowell but considering how well he has played this year (.297 BA, 12 HR, 50 RBI, 33 doubles, .853 OPS, Gold Glove-caliber defense), the Padres won't get him for cheap. With the obvious need of the Red Sox being starting pitching, four names stand out in San Diego. 1. Jake Peavy (4-9, 4.78): The Padres ace is having a difficult year but I think it will take more than Lowell to pry him out of Southern California. 2. Woody Williams (4-1, 3.38): The Padres tried to pawn Williams off on the BoSox for David Wells in the offseason. I doubt they'd be hesitant to move him now. 3. Chan Ho Park (6-6, 4.64): In Fenway, it could get ugly. 4. Chris Young (8-4, 3.59): A young building block for San Diego, I don't know if they would be too excited to move the 6-10, former Princeton hoop star. Would be a great back-of-rotation starter for the Sox. Some other points to consider: 1. This is just a rumor. The Padres may have called on Lowell only to be told "Peavy, Young, or nothing." 2. If this deal is consumated, the Sox will supposedly move Kevin Youkilis back to thirdbase. So then, "Who's on First?" in Boston? I doubt that the struggling (in Triple-A Pawtucket) Hee-Seop Choi is the answer. Is there another deal in the works to bring in a firstbaseman? 3. The only positive from the Sox standpoint in moving Lowell before the July 31 trade deadline, short of landing either Peavy or Young, is ridding themselves of the rest of Lowell's contract. Maybe Theo & Co. figure that Lowell peaked early this season and is coming back to reality now so they want to maximize his value. 4. National League pitching is flat-out horrible and the move from NL to AL is usually worth an entire run (if not more) on a hurler's ERA. For now, this goes down as just a rumor. But you never know.