With day two of the 2011 Winter Meetings underway, the Boston Red Sox and Oakland A’s are reportedly scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss closer Andrew Bailey. Buster Olney told us this weekend that he expects Bailey to be traded this winter, and the Red Sox are known to be in the market for a closer after losing Jonathan Papelbon to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Late Monday evening Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com tweeted that, while the Red Sox had not yet “been aggressive” in their pursuit of Bailey, they were scheduled to meet with the A’s Tuesday to talk about the young closer.
Early this morning Nick Carfado of the Boston Globe tweeted that, according to a team source, the Red Sox will make “an attempt” at Bailey this offseason.
At this point, free agent designated hitter David Ortiz appears to be the Red Sox top priority. However, checking in at a close second is their hunt for a closer.
Olney reported that it makes a ton of sense for the A’s to deal Bailey this winter, as he is still young and affordable and his value is probably as high as it will ever be. This led Olney to believe that Bailey will likely be moved this offseason. The A’s have already held trade talks with the Cincinnati Reds regarding the 27-year-old.
For more on the Red Sox and A’s, be sure to check out BoSox Injection and Swingin’ A’s.