Red Sox Notes: Bradley, Drew, Napoli, Pierzynski

The bidding for Jacoby Ellsbury went a little higher than the Red Sox were comfortable going, GM Ben Cherington tells Ian Browne of MLB.com. In the meantime, the Sox aren't sure whether they'll acquire another outfielder or just go with Jackie Bradley Jr. "There's still time. We're working and we're going to work through different options and continue to pursue ways to make the team better," Cherington says. "But we certainly feel fortunate that Jackie is in our organization, and we would feel very good if he is playing center field if that's the way it plays out." Here are more notes on the Red Sox.

• Sox manager John Farrell says that he would like the team to keep Shane Victorino in right field and to add a center fielder or use Bradley there, tweets Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
• Farrell also said that the Red Sox are going to do "anything" they can to retain Stephen Drew and Mike Napoli, Speier tweets. Boston's other key free agents — Ellsbury and Jarrod Saltalamacchia — have gone elsewhere.
• A.J. Pierzynski says that it was "impossible to say no" to the Red Sox since he felt that they give him the best chance to win a World Series ring in 2014, according to the Associated Press.  The catcher will reportedly receive an $8.25MM guarantee on his one-year deal.

Zach Links contributed to this post.