Sources say a reported trade involving Nomar Garciaparra that would bring the Randy Johnson to the Red Sox won't happen soon, if at all.

08:15 AM EDT on Thursday, July 15, 2004

BY ART MARTONE
Journal Sports Editor

AP photo In the end, the deciding factor in a move to Boston may be how badly Randy Johnson wants out of Arizona.

Remember Curt Schilling Week? And Alex Rodriguez Month?

Well, get ready for Randy Johnson Fortnight.

That could be how long it takes for the Red Sox to land the Diamondbacks' ace left-hander, if they land him at all. Not that it would deter Theo Epstein and Co. -- the Sox' general manager, remember, spent seven days around Thanksgiving finalizing the deal that brought Schilling from Arizona to Boston, and most of December working on the Rodriguez negotiations before they fell apart -- but rumors spreading yesterday that a Johnson-to-the-Sox move was around the corner are, according to sources familiar with the situation, premature.

According to reports, the Red Sox are willing to trade Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs for prospects and then send those prospects to Arizona for Johnson. But sources said nothing -- as of yesterday -- is imminent, and that nothing may happen until just before the July 31 trading deadline.

They also said that nothing may happen, period. The Sox, according to one source, "might not do anything" in the way of a trade.

The reason, sources said, is that many pieces have to fall into place for Johnson to come to Boston. And the first one could stop the process before it begins.

That piece -- Johnson agreeing to waive his no-trade clause to join the Red Sox -- could be the most problematic. People familiar with Johnson's thinking say his preference is to join the Yankees and that he'll refuse a move to Boston.

Problematic, but not necessarily fatal. Schilling also was unwilling to agree to an Arizona-to-Boston trade early last fall, but eventually changed his mind. One reason, of course, is that two of his preferred destinations -- the Yankees and Phillies -- closed when both teams were unwilling to meet the Diamondbacks' demands for Schilling.

A similar scenario could unfold in this case. The Yankees desperately want Johnson -- owner George Steinbrenner admitted as much in an interview early this month, for which he was reprimanded by commissioner Bud Selig -- but have very little to offer Arizona in return. The Diamondbacks are looking for major-league-ready prospects, and the upper levels of the Yanks' farm system, stripped in recent years by a series of prospects-for-youngsters trades, are all but barren.

Another potential suitor is Anaheim. But the Angels' interest is said to be lukewarm, mainly because they're already substantially in debt and are unwilling to assume the year and a half remaining on Johnson's hefty contract.

In the end, the deciding factor may be how badly Johnson wants out of Arizona. If he lets his desire to flee overcome his reluctance to join the Red Sox, the deal could work.

But it might take days, if not weeks, for Johnson to reach that decision. It may also take that long for the D'Backs to determine if a potential Sox offer is the best they're going to get. And that's assuming the Yankees or Angels -- or some other, as-yet-unknown team -- doesn't get creative and come up with a proposal that tops Boston's.

No matter what happens, though, it's unlikely to happen quickly.

So let the waiting game begin.

Journal sports writer Sean McAdam contributed to this report.