Rich Harden nearly became a member of the Red Sox prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Now, he could potentially pitch against the Sox down the stretch.
Prior to landing lefty Erik Bedard, the Sox had a deal in place to land Harden in exchange for minor league first baseman Lars Anderson and a player to be named later. The Sox then withdrew the player to be named later from the deal, though, after a further review of Harden's medical records.
But as Harden continues to press on this season, there are a number of teams still looking at the right-hander.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, there have been scouts from potential playoff teams at each of Harden's past several starts. The Yankees have reportedly attended the last two.
Although the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline has passed, teams may still acquire players if they have cleared waivers. Any new player must be on a team's roster by Aug. 31, though, in order to be eligible for the postseason.
Harden is 4-2 with a 3.91 ERA in nine starts this season. In his last start, Harden pitched seven shutout innings, while allowing only two hits and striking out 11, in a 2-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
