Source: Sox interested in Pirates' Hanrahan

A major league source confirmed to WEEI.com on Friday that the Red Sox are interested in trading for Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan. The source also confirmed the fact that, as previously reported by The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo [1], the Sox are not willing to part with Felix Doubront or other top prospects.

The source indicated the Sox would be amenable to including a major league piece or pieces in the deal, but the mention of Doubront or a similarly highly regarded youngster would be a conversation-killer.

Hanrahan, 31, had 36 saves with a 2.72 ERA and 1.274 WHIP in 2012, one year after recording 40 saves with a 1.83 ERA and 1.049 WHIP. In his six-year career (the first 2 1/2 years of which were spent with the Nationals), Hanrahan is 22-17 with 96 saves, a 3.74 ERA and a 1.387 WHIP in 353 appearances covering 397 1/3 innings.

There was speculation that Hanrahan was available last offseason [2] as well, as his contract expires following the 2013 season.

“Obviously, we’d love Joel to be in a Pirate uniform as long as it can possibly happen. There’s a number of factors that go into that. We’ve got to weigh each one accordingly,” Pirates general manager Neil Huntington told WEEI.com last November. “We recognize where our window is. We also recognize that we’re not going to be able to keep everybody in Pittsburgh, in a Pirate uniform, for the duration of their career.

“If there’s a deal out there that makes sense, we need to be open to it. That said, we’re not going to look to move him, but if somebody comes in and can fill multiple pieces for us or can fill a hole longer term for us, regardless of who it is -- take the name off the back of the jersey -- we always have to be willing to think about how we fill multiple pieces to be a better team for longer.”

For more Red Sox news, visit the team page at weei.com/redsox [3].