Red Sox Have Inquired About Rich Harden

The Red Sox have inquired about A's right-hander Rich Harden, reports Peter Gammons (Twitter link).  After spending much of the season on the 60-day DL with a muscle injury in his throwing arm, Harden has a 5.00 ERA in three starts with Oakland.  Two of those outings were quality starts and Harden has an impressive 17 strikeouts (against just four walks) in 18 innings pitched. 

Boston owner John Henry predicted a "quiet deadline" for his team yesterday but acquiring Harden would give the Sox a bit more depth for their struggling and injury-plagued rotation.  Of course, the big question with Harden is if he can avoid injury himself and if he can pitch effectively in a hitter-friendly park like Fenway.  Not that money is necessarily a major issue for Boston, but Harden is a potentially great late-season bargain — he has only around $600K remaining on the one-year, $1.5MM deal he signed with the A's last winter.