Remember: no matter what it looks like, in the end it has to happen.
According to the Globe's Tony Massarotti, the Red Sox and Jays are not close on a Roy Halladay trade:
For all of the talk and rumors emanating from this negotiation, multiple baseball sources indicate that the sides are not close to a deal. According to one source, the Red Sox have had nothing more than exploratory discussions with the Blue Jays and have given no indication that they will even make an aggressive offer. The chances of a deal currently seem extremely remote, though there is always the chance that talks will intensify just before 4 p.m. tomorrow, when teams like the Red Sox are likely to use the deadline as a leveraging point.
Also, the Herald's Sean McAdam writes the teams haven't spoken in three days:
But if the Red Sox felt the Lee deal put them in position to swoop in for Halladay, they had a funny way of showing it. A source with direct knowledge of the talks between the Jays and Red Sox said last night there had been no contact between the teams over the last three days.cw0
Moreover, a major league source, when asked if a deal was there to be made between the two sides, answered: "I’m not sure."
Boy, it seems like it's dead ... or is it?
Here's the thing: as we all know, it ain't over till it's over. Meaning, it ain't over until the trade deadline is officially over. That means at least 15 minutes after the clock strikes deadline. Remember last year? Remember when Manny Ramirez was traded literally minutes before the deadline? That could always happen again.So who knows what we'll see tomorrow? The Jays could come out and say, "Roy Halladay is staying a Toronto Blue Jay." Then all of a sudden we can get reports of a team making a last-ditch effort that is good enough -- but I don't think that will be the Red Sox.
I think Halladay will be staying put. Although I'm sure he'd love to have a better offense behind him (1-3 in his last seven starts with a complete game and a 3.00 ERA), he might just have to stick it out.