It's not a big secret that the Boston Red Sox have been in search of another starting pitcher. Recently they've been linked to both Roy Oswalt and Edwin Jackson. But Oswalt, for his part, doesn't seem particularly thrilled with the idea of pitching in Massachusetts, and now, according to Gordon Edes, the Red Sox might be out on Jackson:

The Boston Red Sox have made an offer but are "most likely out of the picture" for Edwin Jackson, the top starting pitcher remaining on the free-agent market, because there are better deals on the table from other clubs, according to a baseball source.

The Red Sox are reported to have offered Jackson a one-year contract worth $5 million - $6 million. Jackson is worth more than a one-year contract worth $5 million - $6 million. Jackson is represented by Scott Boras, so you can figure that Jackson is well aware that he's worth more than a one-year contract worth $5 million - $6 million.

A couple things, though. For one, it was Edes who, last Friday, reported that Roy Oswalt was going to St. Louis. Oswalt hasn't gone to St. Louis, as far as anybody knows, so you have to wonder. Not that I think Gordon Edes is just making things up, but I do wonder about his individual sources.

For two, wasn't it just the other day that we were reading about Edwin Jackson maybe signing a one-year contract and re-testing the market next fall? He claims to have been offered multiple multi-year deals, but what if all of those deals have come from the Orioles? Would Edwin Jackson really want to sign with the Orioles? The Red Sox would provide an excellent chance of going deep in the playoffs.

It's hard to get a clear picture of Jackson's current market. It would be surprising if he settled for the Red Sox's latest offer. But it wouldn't be insane, and it also wouldn't be surprising if the Red Sox upped their offer a little bit as more time passes. The Red Sox are well aware of what Jackson could do. Maybe in retrospect they shouldn't have signed Cody Ross, but I have to imagine they could scrape together a little more cash.

The Red Sox probably aren't the favorites for Edwin Jackson. Personally, though, I think they're very much still in the mix.