By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Thursday evening, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported that the Boston Red Sox were one of the teams that had recently scouted Philadelphia Phillies starter Jeremy Hellickson and that the Red Sox were 'considering' the 29-year-old as the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline approaches.
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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says that the Phillies have been scouting the Red Sox system, presumably with a potential Hellickson deal in mind:
The Red Sox have been linked to him in trade talks, and while he has experience pitching in the tough American League East, he’s also shown signs he may not be suited for that anymore and that he needs to stay in the National League, where his stuff plays better. The Phillies have been scouting the Boston farm system.
While Hellickson could potentially be a fit for the Red Sox, who badly need back of the starting rotation pitching depth, it's also possible that the Phillies previously thought that the Red Sox could also potentially be interested in pieces like Jeanmar Gomez or Andres Blanco. This week, the Red Sox seem to have ducked out of potentially being in either of those sweepstakes, acquiring Arizona Diamondbacks closer Brad Ziegler to serve as a set-up man and the pair of Aaron Hill and Michael Martinez to improve bench depth.
Hellickson seems a good bet to be traded before the non-waiver trade deadline, whether it is to the Red Sox or someone else. Morosi also noted that the Kansas City Royals are interested in Hellickson, with ESPN's Buster Olney adding the Miami Marlins into the mix as well.
The impending free-agent is 6-6 with a 3.92 ERA in his first season with the Phillies. In his last four starts, he's pitched 25 innings and has allowed just five runs, perhaps a sign that he's hitting his stride just in time to join a team in contention.
