Jake Peavy was very nearly traded from the Padres to the Cubs in the winter of 2008.

"I think it was as close as anything could possibly be without happening," Peavy said.

At the very last minute, the deal broke apart.

"It was going to happen, and then it was a few days where we were just waiting on the announcement. They had to get a few things done here and there, and it was going to be a done deal," Peavy added.

At the time, Peavy was considered the one missing piece that could put the Cubs over the top.

The framework of the trade was agreed upon by Cubs general manager Jim Hendry and Padres general manager Kevin Towers. The Braves and Orioles also got involved in what could have been a four-team trade.

Word is that Cubs owner Sam Zell sent a message to Hendry at the last moment saying he wouldn't take on the $63 million remaining on Peavy's contract.

The New York Yankees have a deep group of relievers and the market is expected to be thin this summer.

There has been talk that New York could move Joba Chamberlain sometime before the July 31 trade deadline if the right deal comes along.

The Washington Nationals are not actively seeking help from outside the organization to improve the roster.

Washington is 27-26, more than four games back of Atlanta in the NL East.

The trade deadline is still more than two months away, but it seems as though the Cubs will soon enter a selling period.

"It is still fairly early and you want to see these guys fight through it and hopefully get on a run," Jed Hoyer said. "At some point there is a finite amount of time between now and July 31 and every week that goes by it gets closer."

At 20-30, the Cubs are 13 games back of first place in the NL Central.

Chicago has expected trade chips in Matt Garza, David DeJesus, Scott Feldman and Alfonso Soriano.

Alfonso Soriano says he is more likely to waive his no-trade clause to accept a move from the Cubs than he might have been a few months ago.

"Yeah," Soriano said. "But it depends on them. It depends what the team wants.

"A chance to win, that's the most important thing. But it depends on the front office. It's not on me."

Soriano rejected a possible trade to San Francisco last summer in the early stages of talks between the teams and said prior to this season that he was optimistic about Chicago getting off to a good start.

"It's something that I don't want to think about now," he said. "But if it comes up in four or five weeks, then maybe I'll think about it."

It has been reported in recent months that the Angels nearly acquired Miguel Cabrera from the Marlins back in 2007. He instead went to the Tigers and won a Triple Crown last season.

The Angels offered Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis and one of two pitchers, Ervin Santana or the late Nick Adenhart, for Cabrera. The Marlins wanted both pitchers and Los Angeles wasn't too happy about giving up Kendrick, so talks broke down.

Don Mattingly benched Andre Ethier on Wednesday for a supposed lack of hustle, which has sparked talk about whether he has value on the trade market.

Prospect Yasiel Puig is playing well at the Double-A level, hitting .314/.385/.579 with six home runs and 10 steals, and could be in line for a promotion.

Ethier signed a five-year, $85 million extension last year and has hit .270/.346/.415 over the last calendar year.

While it seems unlikely that a team would be willing to take on Ethier's salary, the Dodgers have the financial capability to eat some of his future pay in order to move him and create a spot for Puig.

The Orioles have acquired Josh Horton from the Athletics for cash or a player to be named later.

Horton, a minor league infielder, is hitting .224/.246/.373 this season at Triple-A.

Cliff Lee "hopes" the Phillies turn it around, but he is aware that he'll likely hear trade rumors if the club doesn't surge up the standings by midseason.

Lee has been dealt before and has a list of nine approved destinations.

"I definitely want to win. I want to be on a winning team," Lee said. "That should be what it's all about."

A Phillies source suggested that they had no real interest in trading Lee, who is having a typical season, with a 4-2 record and 2.83 ERA.

The Chicago Cubs appear to have a trade chip in Scott Feldman.

Feldman has a 2.19 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings.