"It seems that every winter, the Red Sox always have plenty to talk about with agent Scott Boras. That could again be the case, with the Boston Herald -- citing a baseball source -- reporting Friday night that Boston has expressed at least some level of interest in outfielders Matt Holliday and Rick Ankiel, as well as lefty reliever Mike Gonzalez and third baseman Adrian Beltre.

Yes, all four of those players are represented by Boras.

The Red Sox and Boras, at the very least, discussed Holliday at the General Managers Meetings this month in Chicago. However, it is believed that Boston general manager Theo Epstein's preference is to retain Jason Bay, who is also a free agent. Look for Boston to ratchet its interest in Holliday only if Bay starts to slip away.

Bay and Holliday are, in the minds of most, the top two sluggers in this free-agent market. "