PEORIA, Ariz. -- Jake Peavy stepped away from the spotlight Saturday, both literally and figuratively, propping himself up onto a bench under the shade of cover from a sun-splashed morning in Arizona.

Following an offseason that saw the only organization the 27-year-old has ever known come close to dealing him to Atlanta or the Chicago Cubs, Peavy confirmed what many figured all along.

That he was surprised to still be a Padre.

"I prepared myself that I was going to be traded. Everyone in their right mind thought I would be somewhere else," Peavy told a small group of reporters.

Somewhere else like, say, Lake Buena Vista in Florida, where the Braves train. Or here in Arizona, but down the road in Mesa, where the Cubs' Spring Training facility is. But here in Peoria? No, that didn't seem entirely likely for stretches of an offseason Peavy refers to as "crazy."

At several points during the offseason, the Padres, in the process of an ownership change and looking to dump payroll, actively shopped Peavy and the $59 million he's still owed over the next four seasons.

There were extensive conversations with the Braves, but that fell through. Then there were the much-publicized discussions with the Cubs and the very public breakup that occurred during the Winter Meetings when Cubs general manager Jim Hendry told his counterpart and friend Kevin Towers that there would be no deal.

All the while, Peavy, who is about as unrestrained and gregarious as you'll find a player, hunkered down in his native Alabama or at his new home in San Diego, didn't utter a single word publicly and largely ignored blow-by-blow developments (or lack thereof), opting only to consult his agent, Barry Axelrod.

That part wasn't easy.

"I didn't pay much attention to what was going on. I stayed in close contact with Barry, who gave me updates on what was happening. I just tried not to listen as much as I could to the media reports. There's a lot of uncertainty out there," Peavy said.

That's not to say, of course, he completely separated himself from thoughts of playing for the Braves or the Cubs, two teams he told the Padres he would accept deals to. There was more than one occasion when a deal seemed imminent and Peavy allowed himself to think about pitching for a team other than the Padres.

"I would get excited, I would get not excited," Peavy said. "I just tried to let things play out. I didn't want to get too excited. Sure, I thought about it. I thought about pitching for the Cubs.

"But I just let things play out. I just tried to let the people making those decisions make them. I told Barry, I've got to prepare this winter that I'm going to be a Padre."

Which, he has often said, is ultimately where Peavy wants to be.

"I never came forward and said I wanted to leave San Diego. This offseason uncertainty wasn't brought on by me asking for a trade," said Peavy, who is starting his 10th Spring Training with the team.

Peavy said he has absolutely no ill will toward the team for shopping him during the offseason. He understands there's a business component involved, though he said he's still not entirely sure why he was being shopped around.

"There are no hard feelings," he said. "I don't fault the Padres. They've got to do what they've got to do. I don't understand why they thought it was important to explore a trade for me. If there comes a time when that happens again ... you don't want to be somewhere where you are not wanted. I hope that's not the case here."

The Padres certainly don't think it is. Manager Bud Black said Saturday that he, and he's not alone, is glad Peavy is back.

"I think all of us in uniform were guarded in what might happen this winter. I think it's great Jake is in camp. I think everyone concerned with the Padres feels the same way," Black said. "... We're ready to move forward with Jake in our rotation like it's always been."