Perhaps the current not-so-hot trio of Red Sox outfielders is proving a little worrisome for the Yawkey Way brain trust. Perhaps it's the first "sweetheart" deal—a leftover from the Cubs luring Theo Epstein to Wrigley Field. Maybe it's just using a band-aid to close the wound after open-heart surgery.

However, if the rumor mill is to be believed, as reported by a Nick Cafardo tweet, the Red Sox may be close to finishing a deal with the Cubs for outfielder Marlon Byrd.

If this is an accurate story, it's not quite clear how much of an improvement this would be offense-wise. Marlon Byrd is a serviceable hitter, with a career .278 average, a .337 OBP, and a .753 OPS. This is essentially pre-2011 Jacoby Ellsbury: his career numbers are now .299/.354/.804, but that is also including his monster 2011 campaign with .321/.376/.928. He's also not much of a HR threat, with 81 longballs in an 11-year career.

We'll keep you posted on any updates to this story as they become available.