[UPDATE, 3:03 a.m.] It's my bedtime. Mr. Lowell can wait until the morning. - Randy
[UPDATE, 3:00 a.m.] SI's Jon Heyman tweets that both sides are still mulling the deal.
[UPDATE, 1:23 a.m.] Ken Rosenthal tweets the following:
Lowell hip, thumb issues could derail trade to Texas. "This thing could still blow up," one source said.
[UPDATE, 12:57 a.m.] The ProJo has more, including the fact the Sox will probably eat at least half of Lowell's contract:
UPDATE: FoxSports Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the framework on a deal is done -- though those involved say it is not a done deal yet. As a caveat, that's not clear whether it's 'not done' because it's pending a physical, or not done because there are still issues to be worked out.
Also, According to those close to him, Lowell was not thrilled that it has come to this -- "he signed a three-year deal to play in Boston," but does not appear to want to stand in the way of any trade.
The Herald says the deal is done after the team's "haggled" over money.
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The Red Sox are close to trading third baseman Mike Lowell to the Texas Rangers in return for catching prospect Max Ramirez, according to FoxSports' Ken Rosenthal:
Prelim agreement on Lowell to Tex for Max Ramirez. Red Sox owners must approve, teams must be satisfied with medicals. Red Sox eating ne ...
Make that, Red Sox eating nearly all of 12 salary.
If this is really that close, this is huge news. The Mike Lowell trade rumors just started brewing up today, but I don't think anyone expected a deal to be in place this quickly. If this trade goes down, expect the Red Sox to go hard after Adrian Beltre. Or, perhaps, explore a trade to bring in a first baseman or a third baseman.
We'll have more on the deal as we hear the details.