Despite continued interest in Chris Sale, a deal involving the Chicago White Sox ace still appears unlikely.

Still think it's unlikely that Chris Sale gets dealt. But FWIW, the Rangers, Orioles, Marlins & Nationals all had scouts at his start Thurs — Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 29, 2016

Jayson Stark's take: On the one hand, one source Friday estimated that the chances of Sale getting traded were "less than 5 percent." On the other hand, the White Sox sure do keep listening. So it's always notable to pay attention to who's in attendance when a guy like this pitches. Of this group of teams, the Marlins are now out after trading for Andrew Cashner and Colin Rea ... the Orioles wouldn't seem to have enough depth in their system ... the Rangers' interest has been no secret ... and the Nationals are a surprise, because they appear to be focusing more heavily on relief pitching.

Beyond those clubs, the Dodgers, Red Sox and Yankees are all known to have some level of interest. But teams that have spoken with the White Sox continue to report that the price on Sale is so high, it's almost impossible to envision someone paying it.

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An executive of one team's summation: "They want your five best prospects, and that might not be good enough, because they want major league-ready pitching."

An exec from another club described it this way: "They're asking for a huge haul. But if they get overwhelmed with major league pitching, and controllable guys, they'll strongly consider it."

So it's not impossible that Sale could change area codes in the next few days. But it's still a thousand miles away from likely.