2014 SF Giants World Series champion joins San Diego Padres front office

Jake Peavy is returning to where his career began. 2014 SF Giants World Series champion Jake Peavy has joined the San Diego Padres front office as a special assistant to Padres CEO Erik Greupner, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

2014 SF Giants World Series champion joins San Diego Padres front office

Peavy last pitched in a major league game in 2016. He expressed interest in continuing his playing career, but it never came to fruition, and he announced his retirement in 2019. That said, he never got too far away from baseball, joining the MLB Network as an analyst in 2022.

Peavy is known for many things throughout his 15-year major league career. He was a three-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion, and the 2007 NL Cy Young winner. A few moments from his Giants tenure stand out.

The first being when Travis Ishikawa nudged Peavy away while he was rounding the bases on the home run that sent the Giants to the World Series in 2014. Another is a video that has circulated on social media for years. While on the mound, Peavy was looking from the plate when Buster Posey tossed the ball back. The ball landed right in his glove as if Posey meant to do that. Oddly enough, Jake Lamb, who is now with the Giants organization, was at the plate.

Peavy had the good fortune to be a part of consecutive World Series teams, starting with the Boston Red Sox in 2013. A midseason trade in 2014 sent him to San Francisco, where he helped the Giants in a big way down the stretch. The veteran pitcher tallied a 2.17 ERA in 12 starts following the move.

After the Giants won the World Series, they rewarded Peavy with a two-year deal. He was a reliable arm in 2015, but his production dipped in his final year on the mound.

Peavy now returns to a Padres organization where he spent the first eight years of his major league career, so there is plenty of familiarity. The Padres still have a star-studded roster, but have been tasked with cutting costs in recent offseasons, leading to little free-agent activity. The special assistant or special advisor role tends to be fluid with teams, so Peavy's purpose likely will not be a concrete objective and could change as time goes on.