Red Sox trade for Wade Miley 'stalled', Rangers, Marlins back in

Update 10:09 pm: The talks are no longer stalled, as Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Red Sox have an agreement in principle to bring Wade Miley to Boston in exchange for multiple pitchers. Further trade analysis can be found here.

★★★

Update 9:30 pm: This doesn't mean things are over for the Red Sox and the Diamondbacks, but things might be tough on the Miley front from here on out:

The Miami #Marlins and Texas #Rangers are now in active trade talks with the #Dbacks for Wade Miley after talks stalled with #Redsox.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 11, 2014

★★★

According to FOX Sports' Jon Morosi, the Red Sox  are close to a trade for the Diamondbacks' Wade Miley. Jeff Passan originally broke the news that there was a trade close to completion, while FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported that both the Marlins and Rangers had dropped out of negotiations, leaving things to the Sox alone.

It is worth pointing out that USA Today's Bob Nightengale is hearing basically the complete opposite, that there are no active talks between the two sides. It's a little strange, though, to have reliable reporters like Rosenthal and Morosi saying it's so, while USA Today's main guy is saying nope. The interpretation might be that the two sides are talking, but not necessarily as close as expected -- far enough apart that neither side will admit it's what they're doing. It's also fair to raise a question about the Sox and D-Backs not talking, when Arizona reportedly pulled out of a trade with the Marlins for Miley. Was that the deal Jeff Passan was originally breaking? Or are the Sox working on one that interrupted that and caused the D-Backs to end their talks with Miami?

There is no word of what the cost for Miley would be as of now, however. Alex Speier reported earlier on Wednesday that the Diamondbacks are interested in acquiring young pitching, something the Red Sox have plenty of. Lots of it has risks -- Anthony Ranaudo, Edwin Escobar, Allen Webster, and so on -- but they also have upsides that might stand a better chance of being seen while in the National League. In the right package, they could appeal to the D-Backs.

While Miley has some question marks, the most significant ones might have been caused by the Diamondbacks themselves. More specifically, their defense, which featured two horrendous defenders in the infield -- no small thing for a ground ball pitcher -- and overall ranked 28th in the majors in converting balls in play into outs. In front of a superior infield defense in Boston -- if that's indeed where he's heading -- out of the home-run-happy Chase Field, Miley should see his numbers improve. That would be significant, considering Miley has also averaged exactly 200 innings per season over his first three big-league campaigns. The Red Sox need an arm like that in their rotation. Or, more realistically, three of them.

Miley has three years of team control left, and is in his first season of arbitration eligibility. The Diamondbacks are attempting to scale back their payroll while also building towards their future under new management.