Red Sox to Focus on Looming Arbitration Cases

With the Boston Red Sox likely out of the competition to land one of the high profile free agent starting pitchers, General Manager Ben Cherington has indicated that the club will likely focus on their arbitration issues.  The team has yet to have an in-person meeting with former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Oswalt and Edwin Jackson has signed a one year, $10 million contract with the Washington Nationals. On the topic of adding a starting pitcher before Spring Training, Cherington has said “We wouldn’t rule out adding a starter, but I think it’s unlikely at this point.  Keep looking for ways to improve the team, including the pitching staff, but I wouldn’t expect any major changes between now and the report date”.  With that being said, Boston still has plenty of work to do in-house in order to sure up their roster before the time that players report to Spring Training.  The two major issues are the arbitration cases of Alfredo Aceves and David Ortiz.  The hearing dates began ...