Red Sox Optimistic About Ramon Martinez

The Boston Red Sox have one thing no other team can offer free agent Ramon Martinez as he recovers from shoulder surgery: his brother Pedro.

“To the extent that Ramon wants to pitch with his brother, he’s got to come here,” Boston General Manager Dan Duquette said with a laugh. “That and several million dollars will sign the pitcher.”

The Red Sox may not be too far away from doing that.

“He was pretty positive about maybe signing here,” said Pedro, who spoke Saturday to Ramon, who was in the Dominican Republic.

Duquette said he went to Santo Domingo two weeks ago to watch Ramon throw in his comeback from the operation that ended his 11th season with the Dodgers after only 15 starts.

And while Duquette said three or four other teams may be in the running, “we’ve had discussions all winter and I think there’s a general understanding that Ramon does have some interest in pitching on the same team with his brother again.”

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