Dan Haren-Chicago Cubs trade falls apart for as-yet-unclear reasons

For a few hours Friday afternoon, it looked like all those Dan Haren trade rumors had panned out exactly as anticipated—the Los Angeles Angels, desperate to get out from under his $15 million option while they could get something for it in return, had reportedly traded him to the Chicago Cubs for Carlos Marmol, a similarly expensive and risky veteran. It looked like a great deal for the Cubs, who'd traded 60 uncertain innings for 180 of them, and for a while we St. Louis Cardinals fans wept and gnashed our teeth about it. Then, all at once, it was off:

Source: Marmol would have OK'ed trade to #Angels, but #Cubs pulled deal off table and trade is not happening. Angels talking to other clubs.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 3, 2012

There were more tweets—many, many more tweets—but that one has the gist of it. So what happened?

The obvious questions are about Dan Haren's health. He lost a lot of fastball velocity in 2012, and while his results were actually pretty good, regardless, some might worry that it's only the start of additional declines. (Anybody who watched the pitcher the Cardinals traded him for is especially justified in having that concern.)

If the Angels continue to shop him, we'll know more soon. But it could be that Haren ends up a free agent after all—maybe even a reclamation project, if he's so damaged that the Cubs wouldn't give up Carlos Marmol for him.