A trade that would have brought Carlos Marmol to the Angels and Dan Haren to the Cubs is dead, reports Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. After the trade fell apart, the Angels declined Haren's option for 2013, making him a free agent.
News of the trade was first reported on Twitter by Yancen Pujols, and confirmed by Enrique Rojas of ESPN (tweet in Spanish).Haren was prominently featured on the trading block with a deadline of midnight this evening to be dealt.
However, after reports of the potential trade leaked out, Angels beat writer Alden Gonzalez spoke to a source that said the deal isn't fully completed yet, but heading in that direction. Ken Rosenthal of Fox is reporting that the Angels are still talking to other clubs, and that Marmol has agreed to waive his no-trade clause to go to the Angels. About an hour after Rosenthal's report, Sullivan and other Cubs sources revealed that the deal was dead, much like the trade during the summer of Ryan Dempster to the Braves. The Cubs were apparently the team to pull the trade from the table, and the Angels still remain in talks with other teams.
Marmol had a 3.42 ERA in 2012 for the Cubs as their closer, saving 20 games and striking out 72 batters in 55 1/3 innings. Marmol will make $9.8 million in 2013, the final year of a three year contract.
Had Haren's $15.5 million option for 2013 has been exercised and the trade completed, he would have fit nicely into a Cubs rotation (at least for one season) that is very young aside from veteran Matt Garza. 2012 was a down season for Haren, as he threw just 176 2/3 innings and posted a 4.33 ERA. Haren's velocity also fell, suggesting that he could be seriously injured aside from the back problems that plagued him in 2012, but that's a risk that the Cubs were apparently willing to take. In attempting to trade Marmol, Chicago tried to shed an inconsistent reliever who has problems hitting the strike zone despite his fantastic velocity. Marmol and Ernesto Frieri in the back of the Angels bullpen would have created a duo that has the potential to blow hitters away, and also to walk the bases loaded at the drop of a hat.
