Report: Cliff Lee Trade to Red Sox ‘Unlikely’ As Boston Explores Other Options

Well, that didn’t take long.

Earlier Tuesday, word came out that the Philadelphia Phillies were demanding top Red Sox prospect Xander Bogaerts in any trade for ace Cliff Lee. About an hour passed before another report emerged indicating that the Red Sox don’t think the 34-year-old left-hander is in the cards — we can only speculate because they believe the price for Lee is too high.

Boston feels “that a trade for Cliff Lee is highly unlikely,” according to Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown. However, Brown does say that the Red Sox are keeping their options open, and that pitchers like Jake Peavy or Bud Norris remain in play.

The Red Sox enter play Tuesday half a game behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East.