Major League Baseball

Report: Red Sox meet with OF Crawford

Published Dec. 2, 2010 12:00 a.m. ET

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A baseball official says the Boston Red Sox have met with free agent outfielder Carl Crawford.

The Red Sox are targeting Crawford as the centerpiece of their offseason shopping. A major-league official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the meeting, confirmed that it took place.

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal also reported Thursday that the Los Angeles Angels have met with Crawford.

A four-time All-Star, Crawford is one of the top players on the free-agent market. He earned $10 million from the Tampa Bay Rays last season while hitting .307 with 47 stolen bases and career bests of 19 homers, 90 RBIs and 110 runs scored.

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and owner John Henry did not immediately respond to e-mails asking about the meeting. It was originally reported on a Yahoo! Sports Twitter feed.

Crawford is the longest-tenured player in Rays history. Over nine seasons, he is the franchise's career leader in batting average, RBIs, hits, doubles, triples, runs scored and stolen bases.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.