The pipe dream that Ubaldo Jimenez would come to the Red Sox is done with word that the Rockies ace is on the way to Cleveland and Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda will not waive his no-trade clause so Theo Epstein made the next best move to provide help to the Boston rotation.
That move was to pick up Rich Harden from the A's in exchange for Lars Anderson and a player to be named later.
Harden is a cheap alternative for the Red Sox, costing them a talented prospect in Anderson who had no future in Boston because he shares a position with Adrian Gonzalez. The reason he is so cheap is because of a long history of injuries, including a lat muscle pull that shelved him for Oakland's first 82 games this year.
In five starts this year Harden is 2-1 with a 4.30 ERA and in his career he is 57-35 with a 3.65 ERA.
Harden has a great combination with his fastball and curveball and if he is healthy, he gives the Red Sox a very good end of the rotation starter. If Clay Buchholz does not return in 2011, Harden will be in the mix to be the team's third starter in the playoffs.
This move - along with a trade for utilityman Mike Aviles earlier in the day - shows that once again Epstein will make moves to help his team compete for the World Series. In 2004 he traded for Orlando Cabrera, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Dave Roberts to help the team capture a championship and did the same in 2007 by adding Eric Gagne. Harden may or may not make a major impact on the team but at least the players know that management is willing to improve the team with an eye on winning the World Series.
The Red Sox are now counting on Harden to stay healthy while hoping John Lackey can continue his recent run of quality starts. They will also be praying that Buchholz returns at 100% sometime in August. If they get two of those wishes to come true then they should be in a great position to win a title because of the 1-2 punch of Josh Beckett and Jon Lester at the top of their rotation.
*** UPDATE - JULY 31 ***
The Red Sox trade for Harden has been called off because the team was worried about his medical records. Considering his past, this is not a major shock.
Epstein now has just a few hours to possibly make a deal to find a starting pitcher.
Maybe this broken deal will force the Red Sox to strike a last second deal for Seattle's Felix Hernandez. Obviously there is a better chance of Barack Obama being the Republicans nominee for President in 2012 but crazier things have happened at the deadline.
Lars Anderson, Kyle Weiland, Anthony Ranaudo, and Ryan Kalish would at least make the Mariners consider moving King Felix, right?
Another name to think about is Matt Garza of the Cubs. He has a proven track record of success in the A.L. East and would be a quality third starter in case Buchholz does not make a healthy return in 2011.
Updates will come when the news breaks.
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