Yesterday we heard from Jon Heyman that the Boston Red Sox were interested in closer Joel Hanrahan. The latest rumor on Hanrahan comes from the Boston Globe. Nick Cafardo of the Globe reports that Hanrahan “appears to be their top target”. He notes that the Red Sox tried to get Hanrahan in 2010, but couldn’t swing a deal.
Cafardo speculates on some of the names involved, noting that the Red Sox may be willing to give up Franklin Morales or Alfredo Aceves, but that the Pirates could be asking for Felix Doubront, which Cafardo calls a deal breaker. All of that seems to be based more on speculation than actual names being discussed. The Pirates and Red Sox are in similar situations, with both teams looking for starting pitching depth. It would seem unlikely that the Red Sox would budge and give up a valuable starter for Hanrahan, considering that need.
Aceves and Morales each have two years of control remaining. Doubront would be a huge pickup, as he has five years of service time remaining and had a pretty strong year in the rotation last year. For that reason, it would be very unlikely that the Pirates would get Doubront for Hanrahan. And I say that knowing that this is the same team who dealt Josh Reddick and two prospects for Andrew Bailey last year.
