The Boston Red Sox appear to have be out of the running for another potential staff ace despite their desperate need for starting pitching help. The Red Sox were once thought to be the front-runners to land several elite starters, and it now appears that they may not get any of them.
The Red Sox lost the Jon Lester sweepstakes when he elected to sign with the Chicago Cubs. They then turned their attention to a potential trade with the Philadelphia Phillies, but that no longer looks like an option for the team either.
At one point, Boston was expected to be the landing spot for free agent starter James Shields also, but not it appears that he may also end up elsewhere. According to Fox Sports, James Shields reportedly has an offer on the table from a mystery team that is in the neighborhood of $110 million.
St. Louis Still Looking To Add Star Pitcher
The deal is supposedly for five years, which puts it in line with the five-year $100 million dollar deal that many projected Shields to receive. There is no word on who the mystery team might be, which has led some to speculate that the offer is merely a ploy to encourage the bidding for Shields' services to heat up.
For their part, the Red Sox have stayed in contact with Shields and his representatives, but are now considered "highly unlikely" to sign him to a deal. There is no word on whether the alleged offer has anything to do with the Red Sox backing out or if they simply do not want to hand Shields a contact that will run until he is in his late thirties.
Either way, it appears that the Boston Red Sox will have to continue their search for an ace to lead the pitching staff in 2015, and there are increasingly fewer options available to them.
Below, you can see a video tribute to Pedro Martinez after he was elected to the Hall of Fame this week, which is about the only bright spot the Red Sox have had regarding starting pitching.
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