In a whirlwind six hours for the Los Angeles Angels and Chicago Cubs, it appears neither Carlos Marmol nor Dan Haren will be joining a new team via trade.

It also appears Haren will still be looking for a new place to pitch next season, after the Angels made the decision to exercise a $3.5 million buyout and make him a free agent.

Angels beat writer Alden Gonzalez had the scoop:

After the framework of a deal was completed earlier in the afternoon on Friday, news broke that the agreement had fallen through.

According to ESPN’s report, there is a list of five teams that Marmol would not consent for a trade. It’s unclear what that list looked like or if that was the reason the deal fell apart, but it’s something to consider after this trade looked so close to happening. After being unable to acquire the former All-Star closer, the Angels now have decided to go in another direction without Haren.

Haren will hit the open market after a very disappointing season in Los Angeles.

The team acquired Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson in the offseason and immediately took on expectations to win the American League. They were unable to ever fully compete in the AL West, though, and finished third in the division behind the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics.

The 32-year-old former ace went 12-13 in 2012 and posted a career-worst 4.33 ERA in 30 starts. He was supposed to be one of the consistent points of a rotation that is headlined by Jered Weaver, but it never came to be.

Los Angeles will now have to fill two holes in its starting rotation, after trading away Ervin Santana to the Kansas City Royals earlier in the week. The move to let Haren go doesn’t come as much surprise after the trade fell through, as he was scheduled to make more than $15 million in 2013.

Although Haren will have the option to return to the Angels with a more team-friendly deal, it would be hard to envision a scenario in which he sticks around after almost being traded before eventually becoming a free agent.

 

Ethan Grant is a featured columnist for B/R and a member of the site’s Breaking News Team.

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