The Red Sox made a blockbuster trade with the Dodgers last year, but it apparently wasn’t the only megadeal Boston considered.
According to WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford, the Red Sox had conversations with the Marlins about acquiring both shortstop Jose Reyes and pitcher Josh Johnson — and were also willing to take on utilityman Emilio Bonifacio if necessary. However, the Sox reportedly were unwilling to talk further because of the likelihood that top prospect Xander Bogaerts would need to be included in such a deal.
The rest is history. Reyes, Johnson and Bonifacio were dealt — along with Mark Buehrle and John Buck — to the Blue Jays in what was a huge offseason overhaul for both Miami and Toronto. The Red Sox, meanwhile, brought in a number of mid-tier free agents.
Johnson told WEEI.com that he had his wife on high alert during the 2012 season, sensing that a trade was possible. Once the trade deadline passed and the season eventually ended, though, Johnson didn’t hear trade rumors, so he was caught off guard a bit by the news that he was headed to Toronto.
Johnson admitted that he did ask around in 2012 about what it would be like to play in Boston. The man he turned to was old friend Cody Ross, who spent the 2012 season with the Red Sox before signing with the Diamondbacks in the offseason.
“I had a good buddy on the team, Cody Ross. Just talking to him, he said I would love it,” Johnson reportedly said. “We went to dinner when [Boston] was in Miami. There was just small talk, joking around, like, ‘You would like it here.’ Stuff like that.”
The Red Sox and Blue Jays obviously find themselves on complete opposite ends of the spectrum to begin this season. The Sox enter Thursday’s game with a 19-8 record, while the Jays are in the basement of the American League East with a 10-18 mark. Johnson has struggled mightily in four starts and Reyes has been on the disabled list.
Surely, the Red Sox have no regrets with their decision to hang up the phone.
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Photo via Facebook/Jose Reyes
