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The Boston Red Sox are "currently disinclined" to trade center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Boston is less interested in trading Ellsbury at this point because his value has fallen significantly over the past year, according to Rosenthal. The Red Sox expect Ellsbury to be "highly motivated" in what will be his final season before reaching free agency.
Ellsbury is only 29 years old and would seem to be a player a franchise could build around. However, there is doubt that the Red Sox will be able to reach what they consider to be a reasonable contract extension with him given his recent inconsistent performance and the fact that he’s represented by Scott Boras.
Ellsbury put together an impressive 2011 campaign, during which he hit .321/.376/.552 with 46 doubles and 32 home runs. While this performance garnered MVP votes, he came crashing back down to earth last season, hitting only .271/.313/.370 with 22 extra-base hits over 303 at-bats.