The Trade that Wasn't

My most recent article, titled "Haren Here, Marmol There" talked about the trade made between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels. The Trade was a swap; Dan Haren for Carlos Marmol. I examined the deal, but later, following the posting of the article, the trade was confirmed as dead. Apparently, Carlos Marmol leaked it to a dominican reporter that he had been traded to the Angels, the reporter inferred that the player going to the Cubs was Haren, and the news spread like a wildfire.

The Cubs reported no trade, and Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports confirmed it. So, take the previous article as an interesting hypothetical. I'm not completely surprised by this. This trade felt fishy from the beginning, as the Cubs seemed to be getting too good a deal. On the other hand, I bought into it just like everyone else. Nonetheless, there was no trade today between the Cubs and the Angels, instead the Angels will have to pay Haren's $3.5 million buyout as no one is reporting they picked up his option before 11pm eastern standard time.

Overall this will save the Angels more money that if this trade had actually happened, but then again, they didn't get Carlos Marmol.