Red Sox focused on acquiring D-Backs’ Montero

ESPN’s Peter Gammons stopped by Boston.com to discuss the current state of Red Sox nation. After the signings of Brad Penny and John Smoltz it sounds like Theo Epstein is shifting his focus to catchers and the Diamondbacks’ Miguel Montero is square in his sights.

Right now, [the Boston Red Sox] seem to be focused on Miguel Montero from Arizona, with Saltamacchia in Texas a possibility. Early in the fall, they tried to make a run at Russell Martin of the Dodgers and Mike Napoli of the Angels, but without success. They can have Montero if they’ll trade Michael Bowden but thus far the Red Sox have refused to trade him.

According to SoxProspects.com Bowden , a 22 year old, 6′3″, right handed pitcher, is expected to have a similar career to Jeff Suppan and has a great deal of potential.

Bowden is a big righty starter with a top-of-the-rotation ceiling, presently projecting as a solid third starter at the major league level. He is an advanced pitcher for his age, but there’s some room for improvement. He has an arsenal of three pitches that could be big-league caliber: a 90-93 mph four-seam fastball that tops out around 95 mph, a very good 12-6 hard breaking curve, and an excellent circle changeup with plus potential.

This seems to go against what Arizona general manager Josh Byrnes’ stance that the team would keep Montero.

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Tags: Michael Bowden, Miguel Montero