This just in: Bronson Arroyo mysteriously disappeared from the probable starting pitchers listed for Tuesday’s games. Could he and his guitar soon be headed back to Boston? The Bronx? Philadelphia?

By Friday afternoon at 4, thankfully, the tidal wave of speculation will end. The deals will be done or put off until winter  . . well, except for waiver deals.

Currently, according to rumor, the Red Sox remain a player in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes and have been spotted kicking the tires on Indians catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez and, perhaps, LHP Cliff Lee, both of whom have also drawn interest from Tampa Bay. Padres 1B Adrian Gonzalez also remains on the Boston radar.

Apparently, though, Theo Epstein remains reluctant to include Clay Buchholz in any of the prospective deals.

As for Terry Francona, the manager will be happy when Friday’s 4 p.m. deadline passes, regardless of what gets done.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty this week. And because this is Boston it means we seem to be a player in everything,” Francona said. “It creates a lot of uncertainty in players. There’s no way around it.”

By the way, Red Sox 3B Mike Lowell is being given a night off tonight against Oakland. Feel free to conjure another rumor.

Tags: Adrian Gonzalez, Bronson Arroyo, Clay Buchholz, Cliff Lee, Indians, Padres, Rays, Red Sox, Terry Francona, Theo Epstein, Victor Martinez