Veteran outfielder Cody Ross never closed in on a deal with the Boston Red Sox before hitting the free agent market, and is now garnering interest from "multiple teams", reports Rob Bradford of WEEI:

"It hasn’t been really what I would say close," said Ross…

"They had a ton of opportunities. We talked about this back in July and we couldn’t work anything out up until the deadline. Now it only makes sense to listen to other teams."

As Friday evening’s negotiating deadline passed, the Red Sox had not made a qualifying offer to the 31-year-old Ross, making his path to sign elsewhere much easier. Ross expressed to Bradford his surprise at not working out something with Boston prior to Saturday, but expressed that he would still love to return if it works out that way.

The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies are two teams that could target the veteran outfielder, according to various sources. The righty slugger was Boston’s most durable and reliable outfielder in 2012, hitting .267/.326/.481 with twenty-two home runs in one hundred thirty games.