It was foreign territory for Beckett, who has been the cornerstone of Boston’s starting rotation since 2006. His inconsistency this season — and the emergence of Franklin Morales — made him a possible trade chip.
On Tuesday night, Beckett was still coming to grips with the whirlwind speculation.
“I definitely had three hours to calm my mind,” Beckett said. “It’s definitely, I’ve never been through it. It was definitely something different for me.”
Had the Red Sox included Beckett in a potential package, they would have needed to ask Beckett to waive his 10-5 rights to finalize the process. But Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said he never requested that approval from Beckett.
Reports indicated that the Rangers were interested in the right-hander’s services. But after all the discussions, Beckett stayed up and tossed 2 2/3 frames against the Tigers on Tuesday before leaving with back spasms.
“I think everybody, you know there was a lot of guys in here that’s name was attached that some people didn’t think were going anywhere,” Beckett said. “I think a lot of times people try to throw as many things up against the wall as they can and then one sticks and they look like a genius.”
Beckett could still be a candidate for a deal before Aug. 31, if he clears waivers. For the time being, the Red Sox won’t place the 32-year-old on the disabled list and will monitor his health day by day.
Have a question for Didier Morais? Send it to him via Twitter at @DidierMorais or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.
