Could the Roy Halladay rumor mill be any more ridiculous?
Here's a summary of the MLBTradeRumors Halladay post dedicated to rumors posted since 5 p.m. (all times Central):
5:38 — The Jays are not actively talking with anyone. JP Ricciardi says talks are dead.
5:57 — The Dodgers and Blue Jays have been "negotiating extensively."
6:06 — The Rangers and Blue Jays have had "significant" communication.
6:40 — The Dodgers have not been in on Halladay. The Rangers have a legitimate chance.
8:11 — The Rangers are willing to take on all of Halladay's contract.
8:17 — "Nothing seems hot" on Halladay front.
8:30 — Talks between Jays and Rangers are "very serious."
8:38 — There's nothing to reports of the Rangers pursuing Halladay.
9:23 — The Jays have had no active talks about Halladay.
9:27 — Ricciardi says it's looking more and more like Halladay will stay put.
9:59 — Nolan Ryan says the Rangers are pursuing Halladay (he can't say that, can he?).
10:52 — The Rangers have asked Toronto to pay a "significant" portion of Halladay's salary.
So the Dodgers and Rangers are in, except the Dodgers are actually out, and so are the Rangers, although they may be in a little bit. If the Rangers are in, they're willing to take on Halladay's salary, as long as Toronto pays a significant chunk of it.
And the Red Sox? No word since Ed Price tweeted around noon that the Jays wanted the Sox to take on Alex Rios' contract. The Sox apparently are waiting on word from San Diego, where the Padres' front office is discussing trade offers they've received with the club's ownership, and Cleveland, where the price for Victor Martinez seems to be plummeting like a stone.
No "news" is good news, right?
2 replies on “Silly Season”
Jayson Stark reports the Sox are looking at a three-way deal with the Indians and anther team to send Martinez to Boston, LaRoche to the third team and Buchholz to Cleveland.
Nick Cafardo says the Sox and Padres were still in active trade talks last night.
Should be a fun day!
A good illustration of why hot stove rumors are pretty worthless. No one ever knows what really going on behind closed doors in the talks, and front offices will often plant false stories as negotiating tactics. No way of knowing until the transaction is official ot the deadline passed.