Marquis' Rockies role

The Cubs trade of Jason Marquis for Luis Vizcaino is little more than a salary dump for the Cubs, who acquire a potential setup-type reliever in Vizcaino. Marquis, who earns $9.8 million in 2009, was just to expensive to keep.

Fantasy Impact: Despite his mediocre 4.55 career ERA, Marquis always seems to find a way to win. He's always played for winners, and that helps. If the Rockies can recapture a little magic from 2007, Marquis might be a nice pickup for a fantasy team as a spot starter who is likely to beat lower-end teams on a regular basis.

Vizcaino is nothing more than a middle-reliever. The Cubs have both Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg to handle closing duties.

Padres still working Peavy deal with Cubs

News on the Jake Peavy trade front out of San Diego says no deal is likely with the Cubs until after the winter meetings. Padres GM Kevin Towers, who's talked very freely about trading Peavy all offseason, was at it again on Tuesday.

"It looks more likely today," Towers said late Tuesday afternoon.

Towers, who has said a deal "definitely" would involve a third team, said talks "could speed up" soon if Cubs GM Jim Hendry can make a corresponding move that would allow him to assume Peavy's contract, which guarantees Peavy $63 million over the next four years.

But, he added, "Jim and I both kind of agree that if we can't come to some sort of agreement by Thursday, it's probably not going to happen."

The Cubs continue to try to work with the Phillies to move Mark DeRosa in order to free up salary, and a fourth team could get involved. Jason Marquis has also replaced Sean Marshall in the deal.

It sounds like something might get done, but if the teams continue to get hung up on the prospects involved in the deal, who knows? San Diego needs to get a haul if they're going to give up one of the top young pitchers in baseball.