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Red Sox GM Ben Cherington Calls Kevin Youkilis Trade Rumors ‘Inaccurate’

Rumors were swirling early on Friday afternoon, as sources were indicating that the Red Sox were actively shopping third baseman Kevin Youkilis.

The initial report on Friday was that Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington had been telling teams the Red Sox did "definitely intend to trade" Youkilis and were just looking for the right deal, according to CBS Sports' Danny Knobler. But Cherington denies any such interaction with other teams.

Cherington was quick to squash that fallacy early Friday evening, calling the rumors "inaccurate" in an email to WEEI.com.

"That’s inaccurate," Cherington said in the email. "Some teams have checked in on him. We haven’t told any teams we plan to trade him. It's our job to listen if teams have interest. He's swinging the bat well since coming off the [disabled list] and [is] a big part of our team and lineup."

Youk has been red hot since coming off the DL on May 22, hitting .313 with two home runs and three RBIs in nine games. Youkilis was given the day off on Friday night in Toronto.

Now in his ninth season in Boston, the 33-year-old is still a productive player both at the plate and in the field. Youkils has put together an impressive resume throughout his career, being selected to three All-Star teams and managing a .288 batting average, 133 home runs and 562 RBIs.