BRAVES: Peavy remains coveted pitcher

Dana Point, Calif. —- Everywhere you turned Monday on the first day of the general managers meetings at the posh St. Regis resort, you could run into an agent, team official or media member opining that the Braves are the favorites to land San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy.

This despite the fact the Braves made it clear they won’t trade top pitching prospect Tommy Hanson, the right-hander that Padres GM Kevin Towers craves as the centerpiece in a trade package for Peavy.

The Braves have at least $40 million to spend on 2009 additions and hope to land two proven starting pitchers and a power-hitting outfielder this winter. They are looking far and wide, including to the other side of the Pacific Rim, where a Braves representative met over the weekend with hard-throwing Japanese free-agent pitcher Junichi Tazawa.

Boston and Seattle also are vying for the services of Tazawa, whose price tag won’t be nearly as prohibitive as some Japanese stars coming the majors. Tazawa pitched in the Japan’s Industrial League and was passed over by the country’s 12 highest-level teams after making it clear he wanted to come pitch in the United States.

Peavy, an Alabama native, has a no-trade clause and told his agent the Braves were among five NL teams he’d want to be traded to if he can’t stay with the Padres, whose owner is going through a divorce and wants to slash Padres payroll in advance of a team sale.

St. Louis was also on that list and is expected to make an offer for Peavy, but doubts have been raised over whether Cardinals have enough young talent to entice the Padres.

Milwaukee could present a package to compete with a Braves offer, but some who know Peavy doubt he’d waive his no-trade clause to be dealt to Milwaukee. He has homes in San Diego and Semmes, Ala., outside Mobile, and also owns a lodge on the Alabama River in the northern part of the state.

A person familiar with the Peavy situation said Braves officials met with Padres general manager Kevin Towers on Sunday night and again Monday, and the two sides discussed several proposals that didn’t include Hanson, whom the Braves refuse to part with.

Braves general manager Frank Wren spoke only in general terms. “We had some conversations with general managers and also some conversations with [representatives of] free agents,” he said.

Towers wants two young pitchers in any package for Peavy, 27, the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner who is under contract for $63 million over the next four seasons, or $81 million for five if an option is exercised.

Even with Hanson off the table, the Braves might be able to do a trade that included two from among other young pitchers including Charlie Morton and James Parr, left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes and prospects Kris Medlen and lefties Cole Rohrbough and Jeff Locke.

There were reports the Braves might go for Peavy with a trade package including shortstop Yunel Escobar and one of their center-field prospects, Jordan Schafer or Gorkys Hernandez.

Wren has said he has no intentions of trading any of the “next wave” of top Braves prospects that should infuse the big-league team in the next few years. Whether that includes Schafer or Hernandez is unclear, but it does include Hanson and outfield prospect Jason Heyward.

Braves officials believe Escobar has All-Star potential and are also reluctant to deal him.

The Padres have said they would consider offers from the Los Angeles Dodgers, who savor the possibility of getting Peavy. But there are doubts about whether the Padres would really trade Peavy to their NL West division rivals from just up the freeway.

Dodgers GM Ned Colletti acknowledged there was an inherent difficulty in trading an elite player to a division rival. “Yeah, sure it is,” he said. “You’re going to see that player play a lot.”