According to Gordon Edes of ESPN.com, the Red Sox and Padres have been discussing a trade for much-heralded Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.  I don't really feel the need to go too much into detail about Gonzalez here as there's an article I posted just a couple of days ago professing my baseball love for him.

I have been hoping the Sox would wait until he hits free agency to pull the trigger on him, but I'm optimistic about Edes' report that the talks only include Red Sox minor league players--so Ellsbury, Bard, Buchholz, and Lowrie would presumably be safe.  I do have to admit this would get me incredibly psyched for next year.  If the deal were Kelly, Rizzo, and Iglesias straight up, I think I'd do that in a heartbeat for a year of a superstar player signed cheap.