Is there another source for that? The article posted yesterday seemed more speculative, but also the Sox are going to Sox, so it is always possible they do the dumbest possible thing.
Free agency via Curt Flood was 1976. I was wrong on draft as it was 1965. The point was that the game has changed a lot in 52 years, and players don't stay put like they used to because of those things. Steve Carlton staying on a bad team for 8 years as a top flight pitcher doesn't happen today.
Any deal has to start with a top 10, top 50, and top 100 and go from there. Sneaking in a young raw international player at the end would be sweet as well.
He wanted to stay in Miami the whole time, and they supposedly told him they wouldn't trade him, so he didn't need a NTC, and then traded him anyway after their selloff.