Cherington not 'unwilling' to deal prospects

BOSTON -- After trading several highly regarded prospects in the December 2010 trade that brought Adrian Gonzalez to Boston, the Red Sox have seemed hesitant to go down that road again.

But with their farm system looking deeper than it has in some time, particularly from a pitching standpoint, general manager Ben Cherington could be in position to move some highly rated Minor Leaguers this winter.

"I don't think we've ever been unwilling to trade prospects," said Cherington. "It's entirely contextual. For the right player, yeah, of course we'd consider trading prospects. We just have to see."

After trading Jon Lester and John Lackey, the Red Sox will clearly be in need of impact pitching this winter.

"Clearly there are some areas we'd like to add to this offseason and we have to figure out what we feel makes the most sense, whether that's trying to add through free agency or trades, weigh the cost and the expected return," Cherington said. "There are definitely times when a trade makes more sense than free agency, and there's times where it's vice versa. I think we've just got to get in the offseason and see what those opportunities are."