"Just because the Red Sox have not been able to bring in another starter on a major league deal does not mean they have abandoned hope of doing so.

That is why they are still maintaining contact with the agent for free agent starter Roy Oswalt, an alluring remedy for the club's starting pitching blues. Oswalt may be amenable to a one-year deal worth roughly $8 million.

The fact the Red Sox have not yet made a bold run to lock up Oswalt at that price could be a sign of how close the team is to breaking the $178 million luxury tax threshold.

That could help explain why word spread from the Rocky Mountains yesterday that the Rockies and the Red Sox had spoken about a deal to send shortstop Marco Scutaro and his $6 million salary to Colorado. A low-cost return would likely have been the Red Sox' goal but the talks fizzled, according to the Denver Post.

The Rockies in the end were reluctant to take on Scutaro's salary, even though they could have used him to play second base and hit second in the lineup. In addition, the Red Sox likely came to the realization that they do not have an in-house solution to replace Scutaro at shortstop.

General manager Ben Cherington said the deal's imminence was "exaggerated," but it remains unclear exactly how advanced the talks were, especially with the Sox not having an obvious answer as to who would take over for Scutaro."