The Sox did not present an offer to Pavano, who made Boston the first stop on a national informational tour of cities where he is considering playing next season. The 28-year-old righthander went 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA last season for the Marlins as he enters the prime of his career.
"Carl was very happy to spend some time with Theo and Terry," his agent, Scott Shapiro, said. "He has a lot of respect for Schill, and he was very impressed with Boston as a first-class organization."
Pavano, who was traded as a farmhand by the Sox with Tony Armas Jr. to the Expos in 1997 for Martinez, has rejected a three-year, $21 million offer to stay with the Marlins. Though the Sox have been reluctant to guarantee a third year for Martinez, they almost certainly
would for Pavano because of his age. But a more immediate question for the Sox may be, will the Yankees guarantee Martinez a third year? Two days after Martinez met with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner in Tampa, manager Joe Torre told reporters in Dallas he would welcome Martinez as he would any top-flight pitcher.
"Pedro's one of the elite pitchers in baseball," Torre said before he spoke at Southern Methodist University, according to the Associated Press. "As a manager, you want all the toys on the shelf, there's no question."
Torre said the Yankees need to beef up their starting rotation, which he described as "the thinnest" in his nine years as manager. And Torre seemed intrigued by the possibility of acquiring Martinez.
"I don't know what's going to come of it," he said. "Having George meet with him -- he doesn't meet with people just for the sake of meeting them. He's certainly thinking in terms of helping our ball club."
The Sox and Martinez's agent, Fernando Cuza, remained tight-lipped about their negotiations. But there seems to be a chance the Sox and Yankees could rank among the top contenders for Martinez's services, as well as Pavano's.
