Yesterday the Padres and Rays seemingly had agreed on a deal that would send shortstop Jason Bartlett to San Diego for relievers Cesar Ramos and Adam Russell.
At one point several sources described the trade as completed, pending the usual physical exams and paperwork, and when contacted by reporters Bartlett indicated the Rays had told him it was a done deal.
However, now Jerry Crasnick and Buster Olney of ESPN.com report that the trade “is off, at least for now, because the teams couldn’t finalize the deal.” According to the report the swap “is in limbo, but it’s not dead.”
Baltimore was said to be in the mix for Bartlett, but the Orioles have instead traded for J.J. Hardy to fill their need at shortstop, so if the Bartlett deal falls apart the Rays will have on fewer potential fallback option.