Chicago Cubs Trade for Dan Haren Falls Apart

Although multiple sources had confirmed a move sending Carlos Marmol to the Anaheim Angels in exchange for Dan Haren, the most reputable being Marmol himself, it seems as though the deal is now dead.

Matt Garza also believed the deal had been done, tweeting his goodbyes to Marmol and a welcome to Haren. After the trade fell through, the Angels declined Haren's $15.5 million option, making the right hander a free agent. Haren has expressed an interest to stay on the West Coast in the past, so it seems unlikely that Chicago would be his destination of choice.

In a bit of surprising twist to the plot, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that it was the Cubs who pulled the deal off the table.  The trade seemed to heavily favor the Cubs, as Marmol has struggled to be a consistent closer in the past, although he did convert 20 of 23 opportunities in 2012. Haren would have been a solid starting pitcher for the Cubs to add, and could have been used a trade bait this season, or could have developed into a front of the rotation starter for Chicago.

This is the second time in recent months that the Cubs have had to deal with a Twitter soap opera regarding a trade, as the team faced a similar situation when Ryan Dempster was supposedly traded to the Atlanta Braves. Dempster ultimately blocked the deal, before being dealt to the Texas Rangers a few days later.

Dan Benton

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