Well, it looks like Boston's attempts to shed the contract of Mike Lowell. Pete Abe broke the news. Apparently Lowell's physical revealed a "torn radial colateral ligament" in his right thumb. He'll undergo surgery for it shortly after Christmas and it will take 6-8 weeks for him to recover.
The trade would have gave the Red Sox some salary relief along with the young Max Ramirez. The fact that Lowell's contract will continue to weigh them down probably means that they're out of the Adrian Beltre bidding and an Adrian Gonzalez blockbuster trade is probably even more unlikely now as well.