The “trade” of Rich Harden to the Red Sox “fell through.”
“It’s dead,” Harden said of any potential deal. “I don’t know what happened.”
My first thought when I heard about this deal was, “Why would the Red Sox trade for a pitcher who has a high probability of going on the disabled list?” It turned out, the Boston asked the same question. If a trade rumor doesn’t make a lot of sense, don’t give it too much consideration.
It was not a rumor. There was a deal pending review of medical records which were provided after both teams reached agreement. Supposedly, Red Sox saw something they did not like and backed out of the deal.
I would not be surprised if the deal was made (pending review)and then announced/leaked in part to get the Mariners to lower their demands on Bedard. If thats the case, Billy Beane might not be too happy. Interesting that Theo was quoted as saying “I have no hard feelings” toward Oakland for trying to trade him a turkey.
If Bedard was a no go, they might still have went ahead with the Harden deal since they were not giving up much and Buchholz seems to be injured worse than they have been letting on.
Bedard has also been on the DL so often it qualifies as his 2nd home (LOL), but he is a better pitcher, even though he has a 6.99 ERA at Fenway.