The Red Sox offseason search for starting pitching hasnt yet produced any results, although thats in large part due to the holdup that is placing on the market. the Sox interest in Yamamoto and the manner in which said interest has thus far prevented them from making offers elsewhere on the market (e.g. , , ). With Boston hoping to lure Yamamoto to Fenway Park, its at least understandable if the team doesnt feel comfortable putting forth offers in the vicinity that those other pitchers signed ranging from $75MM to $172MM while simultaneously keeping enough powder dry to put forth the type of ma sive offer Yamamoto will command. The Yamamoto interest hasnt been as much of a detriment on a trade market that has largely remained idle, however. Speier reports that the Sox approached the Mariners about their cadre of controllable starting pitchers but were generally rebuffed. Whether that was due to the quality of their offer (or lack thereof), or simply due to the Mariners being unwilling to move someone from the , , , quartet isnt clear. However, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto suggested at last weeks Winter Meetings that a trade of one of their young big league starters doesnt seem likely ( ). Dipoto acknowledged constant inquiries regarding his young rotation before casting doubt on whether hed actually make a move involving Terry Francona Jersey anyone from the bunch. Well see what the market bears, said Dipoto, whos entering his ninth season as the leader of Mariners baseball operations. We are going to lean into the thing we do well, and if opportunity presents itself, we have to listen. But by and large, we pitch it; we catch it. Were very good at developing young players, and were going to continue to focus on those things. On the one hand, the Mariners and Red Sox seem like natural trade partners. The Mariners are deep controllable young pitchers whove had MLB experience. The Red Sox have several promising, controllable hitters whove made their big league debuts already (e.g. , , ) and, in some cases, had a good bit of succe s. The price to acquire controllable young pitching is always steep, however particularly when talking about players whove already had as much succe s as Kirby and Gilbert or those with six full seasons of control, like Miller and Woo. The Mariners could well prefer more established hitters. Similarly, the Sox might be loath to part with much in the way of immediate MLB production in the lineup, as the free-agent market isnt exactly deep in bats to replace any outgoing hitters. To be clear, theres no indication the two parties cant or wont revisit talks just as theres no indication the Mariners will staunchly turn away any and all inquiries on their excellent rotation. To the contrary, Dipoto acknowledged to Jude that for the right player with another club, the Mariners will consider just about anything. Its been a generally quiet offseason for both teams in terms of notable additions. Boston has picked up in a trade with the Cardinals, but the offseasons of Boston and particularly Seattle thus far have drawn more headlines for their subtractions than their new acquisitions. The Sox traded to the archrival Yankees, while the Ms have traded away , and . In doing so, theyve substantially reduced the team strikeout rate and freed up some resources to perhaps bring in some offense via the free-agent and/or trade market. Seattle has been connected to free agents and over the past week, while rumored trade interest has included the likes of , , and (before he was traded to Boston) ONeill. The Red Sox, meanwhile, continue to search for ways to upgrade their starting staff. Matthew Boyd Jersey