McAdam: Red Sox owners warn of limits as free agency looms for several star players | Boston Sports Journal
Henry, who was vocal about his fears of committing big dollars, long-term, to pitchers 30 and over, said the prospect of extending Sale didn’t worry him despite the fact that mild shoulder inflammation limited the lefty to just 17 innings after July 27 last season.
“No, he’s healthy,” maintained Henry. “He had minor issues. He ended up taking time. He needed to rest a while, but he hasn’t had any significant shoulder issues. He’s a special player. We’d love to be able to sign him; I think he would like to as well. But there are the realities of the marketplace and budgets. And this is his opportunity to be a free agent, potentially — which he would like to avoid and I think he would as well. So something could happen.”
The Sox were famously reluctant to fully commit to Jon Lester in the spring of 2014 as he entered his walk year. The team low-balled him with an offer in February, antagonizing Lester (and some teammates in the clubhouse). The team then traded him to Oakland at the non-waiver deadline before making a futile attempt to sign him in free agency.
“I think we blew the Jon Lester (negotiations),” said Henry. “We blew the signing in spring training. For reasons that are apparent now, which we won’t go into…”
(The latter was apparently a veiled reference to former president/CEO Larry Lucchino, who was known for taking hardball stances with players in negotiations).
