After a brief delay to cover the Aviles trade, the Trade Watch is back- and better than ever. Ok, just as good.Anyway here is the latest-
10:00 PM: Indians are off Ludwick- With Jimenez likely in the bag, the Indians no longer appear to be in the Ryan Ludwick market. The Red Sox are not giving up too much for Harden and could still have a chance to get Ludwick.
9:45 PM Harden for Lars- The deal appears to be Lars Anderson and a PTBNL for Rich Harden. Assuming that player isn’t a major prospect, this seems like a good deal for both sides.
9:30 PM: Red Sox move on to Harden- with the Indians almost certainly getting Ubaldo Jimenez, the Red Sox are now said to be close to a deal with the A’s for Rich Harden. It is unlikely that Josh Willingham with be a part of it though.
9:06 PM Ubaldo to the Indians? Numerous reports are coming in claiming Ubaldo Jimenze is being dealt to
8:45 PM: Not to be outdone in the cryptic trade signal department, the Red Sox have pulled Lars Anderson from his game in Pawtucket, take that Cleveland!
8:30 PM: Scott Miller at CBSsports.com reports that Ryan Ludwick is likely headed to Cleveland, with the deal to be announced tonight or tomorrow.
8:20 PM: For those not watching the Sox game, NESN just reported that Ubaldo Jimenez is warming up in the Rockies bullpen. That certainly makes it sound as if a deal is seriously in the works, is it us, the MFY or the Indians though?
7:45 PM: With Top Prospect Drew Pomeranz scratched from his Double A start, the Indians might be moving in on Ubaldo Jimenez. Pomeranz has been linked to the package for Jimenez.
6:45 PM: Willingham, Crisp, Harden, Kuroda and Jimenez are all being discussed. The Red Sox seem to think that the price for a Coco Crisp is too high, given that he is almost certainly not going to bring them much in compensation picks. Josh Willingham and Rich Harden are much more appealing and they are certainly on the radar.
The Dodgers and Red Sox are said to be "in talks," but that doesn't really mean much at this late a date.
Ask ten different insiders about the state of the Ubaldo Jimenez deal and it seems you will get ten different answers. The Yankees seem to be drawing a hardline on this one, refusing to trade anyone you could have ever heard of for Jimenez. The Reds, Red Sox and Indians are all said to be in on the deal
2:30 PM:Peter Gammons via Twitter- Says that the White Sox are not getting the players they need to move Carlos Quentin. In particular they are looking for a LH OF.
It is strange that one of Ryan Kalish or Josh Reddick wouldn't be on the table for that deal, as the Sox can only really use one in the near future. Are the White Sox selling or not? Personally I don't want to see either moved just yet, but I can't understand why they wouldn't be in the discussion.
2:00 PM: Ludwick and Thornton- The price on the Padres Ryan Ludwick is now being viewed as very low and with the two top buyers for RF off the table Boston could get involved their again. The Indians are considered the front runners here, but the Braves and Reds are also interested. Thornton has apparently lost favor in Chicago, no easy feat with the laid back Ozzie Guillen at the helm. He is being pursued by the Rangers and the Yankees as well as Boston. I wonder if Boston's presence in Chicago gives them an edge here at all.
1:15: Ubaldo Update- The Sox have not had any further talks with the Rockies, but the Yankees are turning up the heat. Will Middlebrooks and Anthony Ranaudo have been discussed as part of a deal.
The lack of further talks leads me to believe the Sox have made a firm offer and the Rockies are pushing for more. I would not be surprised if we find out that Ranaudo is the sticking point. The Sox might be trying to keep the price high, but if the Rockies can't get what they are looking for from the Yankees the Red Sox might have a real chance.
12:45 PM: This just in- the Red Sox are agressively pursuing Carlos Quentin and Matt Thornton of the White Sox. Quentin is the right-handed right fielder with power that the Red Sox need and Matt thornton addresses their issues with left handed relief.
it is easy to see why the Sox would be all over a deal for these two. Quentin has had some injury issues but he is an excellent power hitter who could thrive in Fenway and Thornton was among the game's best relievers before struggling this season. Quentin will be in his final arbitration year after this season and Thornton will be under team control until 2014, so these are not merely rental players. If this signals a White Sox fire sale, John Danks could enter the conversation as well.
12:30PM: Early this morning, the Detroit Tigers acquired Mariners pitchers Doug Fister and David Pauley, taking two more names off the Sox board. This has turned the front office's attention back to Hiroki Kuroda of the Dodgers. The Red Sox are also rumored to be heavily involved in the Ubaldo Jimenez bidding, while Yankees interest in the flame throwing righty might be waning. The Sox have also been connected to Oriole pitcher Jeremy Guthrie recently.
With the Phillies acquisition of Hunter Pence, another outfielder bat is off the market and it appears Boston has cooled on the idea of making a move to address that need. Ryan Ludwick is still being actively shopped and remains an outside possibility for the Red Sox.
Will Hanley Ramirez's recent battle with Jeff Conine and the Marlins front office put him on the trading block? It isn't likely, but you can be sure the Sox will check in on that too.
We will be updating this post as news breaks and providing trade analysis and reactions for you all day today and tomorrow, so keep your browser right here.