12:03am: Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein believes the Pirates will end up with Stanton, Tucker, and Hermida.
11:21pm: Heyman says there’s some prospect haggling but the teams are optimistic a deal will get done. The Marlins and Red Sox seem certain to make a swap, while the Pirates are trying to enhance their part. They are still at risk of being replaced by another club.
Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe thinks a deal may be close, but not done. So we’ve got journalists on both sides of the fence, but everyone seems optimistic.
10:33pm: The Palm Beach Post says a tentative agreement has been reached, despite Gammons’ comments. Here’s the deal:
Marlins get: Manny Ramirez, cash, prospect from Red Sox
Red Sox get: Jason Bay, John Grabow
Pirates get: Ryan Tucker, Jeremy Hermida, one prospect from Red Sox, perhaps another prospect from Marlins
10:22pm: More from Gammons. The deal is definitely not done – the Bucs aren’t yet satisfied with the players they’d get from Boston for Bay. Nothing has been done in regards to Manny’s no-trade or paperwork to the Commissioner’s Office.
Gammons expects this to go right down to the wire.
10:11pm: Kovacevic believes Ryan Tucker might end up with the Pirates, though it’s tentative.
9:05pm: Gammons: talks will continue into Thursday. Good, it’ll give me something to do.
8:50pm: Will Carroll believes the Commissioner’s Office has been informed of a Red Sox-Pirates-Marlins trade even though the teams haven’t agreed on the prospects. Here’s how he sees it:
Marlins get Manny Ramirez, one prospect (BOS), and cash (likely Ramirez’s remaining salary)
Pirates get Jeremy Hermida and three prospects (two FLO, one BOS)
Red Sox get Jason Bay and John Grabow
8:48pm: Perrotto clarifies a bit – Grabow could go to Florida with Stanton joining the Pirates. Interestingly, the Pirates are still talking to the Rays about Bay.
8:29pm: Here’s the latest. MLB.com says we’re moving closer to the three-team deal. The Pirates could receive a minor leaguer from the Red Sox. Dejan Kovacevic says the Pirates would receive four or more prospects for Bay, as well as Hermida. John Grabow could end up in Boston or Florida. Perrotto says it could be expanded to have Jed Lowrie go to Pittsburgh and Jack Wilson to Boston. The Bucs also like Red Sox prospect Hunter Jones.
7:46pm: Rosenthal talked to a Marlins official who said there’s "no way" Stanton is in the deal. The Fish might want young players back if they’re giving up prospects.
7:33pm: Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe characterizes it as "strong interest" from the Marlins but not a done deal. Jon Heyman also has the Fish in the lead. Will Carroll has some kind of Bay/Marlins multiteam deal in the final stages. Jim Molony says the talks are real but a Manny to Florida deal is unlikely. Meanwhile, Manny keeps talking his way out of Boston.
7:23pm: Jayson Stark says the Red Sox are trying to get Stanton, Ryan Tucker, and one of Willingham/Hermida for Ramirez.
6:24pm: MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro is hearing about a three-way deal that would also send Jason Bay to the Red Sox. Hermida would wind up in Pittsburgh.
5:56pm: Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto has multiple baseball sources saying the Red Sox are on the verge of sending Ramirez to Florida for three players, including outfielder Mike Stanton. Dan Graziano says Hermida would be in this deal.
MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro said his baseball sources aren’t dismissing it.
5:31pm: The latest: Buster Olney says the Sox are in "serious conversations" with the Marlins about Ramirez. The Red Sox would kick in money and want three players back, one of whom would probably be Willingham or Hermida. Progress on this is said to be "slow," per Ken Rosenthal’s source.
3:24pm: Mike Berardino just can’t see the Manny-Marlins thing happening at all. The Marlins remained mum on the topic when Berardino asked, but he cited many reasons why it didn’t make sense. Also keep in mind that the Josh Willingham mention was speculation from Ken Rosenthal, not a rumor.
ESPN’s Jayson Stark agrees with others saying Manny is staying put. He notes that the rumors could resume into August due to Ramirez’s salary. Awesome!
11:22am: ESPN’s Andrew Marchand says the deadline for a Manny trade might be 3pm CST today, as he has to sign paperwork 24 hours prior to a deal to waive his no-trade rights. However, it is possible that Ramirez already signed away his no-trade rights for some teams.
9:31am: Ken Rosenthal says Manny is a longshot to be traded. As it was all along. Sounds like the Red Sox will decline his ’09 option.
8:24am: Late last night, Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus had an interesting rumor:
One good source told me that he had heard that the Marlins were involved, willing to give up Jeremy Hermida and Boston-area product Jeff Allison, but I couldn’t confirm this. I just don’t see this deal getting done.
I imagine the Red Sox would be willing to eat all of Ramirez’s salary to get a player like Hermida. As Carroll said, it seems unlikely.
