Breaking News: Harden Deal Falls Through
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Late last night it appeared that the Boston Red Sox and Oakland A's had consumated a deal that would have sent A's starter Rich Harden to Boston for minor league first baseman Lars Anderson and a player to be named later. However, according to various reports, that deal is now off because of medical concerns over the health of Harden.
Apparently, the Red Sox became wary about Harden's ability to stay healthy after looking at his medical records and backed out of the deal. Harden also confirmed that A's GM Billy Beane told him that the deal was off and that he will be making his next scheduled start for Oakland on Tuesday.
This begs the question: what will Theo do now?
The Red Sox still have a need for another starting pitcher due to the uncertainty surrounding the health of Clay Buchholz and the inconsistencies of John Lackey, Tim Wakefield and Andrew Miller.
Many of Boston's trade targets are now off the market meaning the pickings are slim as today's 4pm non-waiver trading deadline approaches.
Seattle's Erik Bedard remains a possibility but he pitched poorly Friday night in his return to the mound from the disabled list. Another M's pitcher - Jason Vargas has been mentioned as a possibility as well along with Houston's Wandy Rodriguez. Whether or not any of those pitchers is an upgrade over what Boston already has is certainly debatable.
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