Ross Says Sox Missed Chances To Sign Him

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In an interview reported on WEEI.com, Cody Ross said the Red Sox missed many chances to sign the outfielder to a new deal:

"They had a ton of opportunities. We talked about this back in July and we couldn't work anything out up until the deadline...I would say it's a little slower pace as far it working out with the Red Sox. It's been a little slower than I thought."

Ross is now a free agent and says he has gotten interest from "multiple teams" for his services in 2013 and beyond. Since the Red Sox did not even offer the $13.3 million qualifying offer to Ross, he can now shop his services without the signing team having to give up a draft pick. This, of course, makes it much less likely that the Red Sox will eventually get Ross back. In our view, this is a big mistake by Ben Cherington. The alternatives left to fill our two outfield vacancies are not as attractive as Ross (the juicing Melky Cabrera, the forgettable Ryan Ludwick and the unproven Ryan Kalish).