According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, the Red Sox are keeping tabs on shortstop free agent options this offseason, including Jose Reyes. Reyes, 28, has generated tons of interest thus far after an all-star season. Nevertheless, the interest that has been shown is only minimal so far -- "due diligence."
In any event, this comes as interesting and somewhat surprising news, considering that Boston has infielder Jed Lowrie, and has already exercised Marco Scutaro's option for the 2012 season. In addition to Reyes, the club has also apparently looked at Cesar Izturis and Ronny Cedeno.
What this essentially means is that the club could be interested in dealing Lowrie. Lowrie, 27, has frequently flashed strong potential, but has missed considerable time throughout his career due to injuries. The former first-round pick is entering his first year of arbitration eligibility this offseason, and would become a free agent in 2015. As Silverman suggests, the Sox could look to trade him to the Astros, A's, or Braves (among others) in exchange for starting pitching.