The Post-Gazette reports that the Bucs, Red Sox and Marlins are discussing a three-team trade that could potentially send off Jason Bay and John Grabow in exchange for a bunch of prospects and, possibly, Marlins outfielder Jeremy Hermida.
This is really too complex to know much about yet. I'd love to have Hermida, but I don't know about him as the centerpiece of a Bay trade, and if he's not the centerpiece (as the P-G reports), then I think the Bucs probably aren't getting him. He's far too valuable to be a throw-in.
If Bay goes to the Sox and Manny Ramirez and cash to the Marlins, then some of the better prospects would probably come from the Marlins... pitcher Ryan Tucker? 3B Matt Dominguez? Pure speculation on my part. Cameron Maybin would be fantastic, and the Marlins aren't conservative traders, but I still don't think that would happen.
UPDATE: Will Carroll reports that the three teams have notified the commissioner that they have a deal in place, although not all the prospects have been determined, and Ramirez has to sign off on the deal. The Bucs would give up Bay and Grabow to Boston and get Hermida plus two prospects from the Marlins and one from the Sox.
We'll see how this shakes out. It may not happen and, in any case, a lot obviously hinges on exactly who the prospects are. If the deal has already been reported to the commish, then the Pirates must have a pretty good idea who they're getting.
UPDATE 10:59: The Post-Gazette now reports that Tucker--mentioned above--could indeed be coming to the Pirates. Tucker's got a great fastball and a decent performance record, and he's quite young. I don't know if he has much of a changeup. He has a decent slider.
UPDATE 11:23: The Palm Beach Post confirms that a tentative deal has been reached, with Ramirez to Florida, Bay and Grabow to Boston, and Hermida, Tucker and two other prospects to Pittsburgh. Thanks to biggyv.
UPDATE 11:30: Peter Gammons says not so fast. He reports that the Pirates have put on the brakes and aren't happy with what they're getting. He thinks this one may go down to the wire, but that Ramirez won't hold it up.
UPDATE 12:00: ESPN reports that it isn't the Pirates holding up the deal, but the Marlins, who want the Red Sox to include a prospect in the deal. This article was just published, but I'm not sure how current the information is or if it was written by someone who actually knows what's going on.
UPDATE 12:35: Here's Dejan Kovacevic's article for the paper. It reports that a "tentative deal" has been reached, but that the Pirates still aren't happy and not all the details have been ironed out. So, it doesn't sound like a deal at all yet.
UPDATE 12:41: Ken Rosenthal reports that Tucker and power prospect Michael Stanton are out. This could fall apart quickly. Again, thanks to biggyv, who's all over this.