Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald:
A major-league source said that the Red Sox met with free agent starter John Lackey’s agent at the GM meetings this week in Chicago. The Red Sox expressed preliminary interest in the right-handed starter, who is arguably the top free agent starter available this coming season. The Red Sox are still in the fact-gathering stage in their quest to beef up their starting rotation and are expected to stay in contact about Lackey in the coming weeks.
I’m actually pretty interested in Lackey. Assuming he settles for a four-year deal, he would provide great depth. I do have some concerns about this:
- Can Lackey hold up? He’s been beset by injuries recently.
- Will he be in a reasonable price range? If not, what’s the appeal to Boston to sign him to a bigger deal?
- What ramifications down the road of signing Lackey is there? Letting Beckett walk?