Edes: Red Sox "Will Not Trade" Josh Beckett Before Deadline

It's been something of a tumultuous will they or won't they couple of days regarding possible Josh Beckett trades, but if Gordon Edes' sources are accurate, then there's no trade going down before Tuesday's 4 pm non-waiver trade deadline.

First, it sounded as if the Red Sox were making calls to the clubs they felt that Beckett would accept a trade to. As Beckett has 10-and-5 rights, they would need his permission to deal him (however, under the new collective bargaining agreement, they didn't need a 24-hour window to do it anymore, as Beckett could accept or reject immediately). Then, it seemed as if other teams weren't interested in acquiring Beckett, as they were worried about velocity, money, you name it.

Then we find out, though, that Ben Cherington hasn't been shopping Beckett, and it's been the teams that Boston supposedly called contacting the Sox about acquiring Beckett for their stretch runs. The Braves ended up getting Paul Maholm instead, the Rangers hadn't closed the door supposedly until Edes said Beckett wouldn't be dealt by Tuesday's deadline, and there's been no update on the Dodgers, so the end result is still the same: Beckett isn't likely to go anywhere by the deadline.

If the Sox were to move Beckett, it sounds like the kind of thing that's just complicated enough to merit an off-season look, rather than an in-season one, especially since they would likely need to make a deal to bring in a replacement starter in order to avoid compromising their depth with two months to go. We've seen where not having starting depth takes a team, and it'd be nice for the Red Sox to actually have a chance to get back into things down the stretch instead.