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Ever since John Lackey's injury, the Red Sox have been (quietly) linked to just about every single available starting pitcher. Well, you can cross one name off your list: Rob Bradford says they are not after Aaron Harang.
While the Red Sox could use some depth if the team is downplaying the damage done to their fifth starter, it's no surprise that Harang is not their man. A couple of positive years with ERAs of 3.64 and 3.61 are not enough to obscure his flaws. A walk rate that ballooned to 4.26 last year may or may not be a sign of decline, but his strikeout totals have been down for three years, he's well on the wrong side of 30, and he's a fly ball pitcher besides.
The Red Sox could certainly do a lot worse than Harang for a temporary replacement. Given that he was just traded for a 37-year-old catcher who had a -0.7 fWAR last year, they could likely pick him up for very little return. But if they do end up needing a starter for any significant period of time, they can probably do better without seeing the price go up too much.
Really, it would probably even make more sense to spend more in terms of talent and get back someone who they would rather have starting than Franklin Morales. Hopefully there's just no need, with Lackey healthy and ready to maybe show us some more of what we saw in his first start (minus the scary injury). Even if there is, though, Harang just doesn't really fit that well with Boston's needs.
