ATLANTA (SI.com) -- Nine years after then-general manager Dan Duquette ran him out of Boston, the Red Sox are interested in bringing back Roger Clemens if he wants to play again, The Boston Globe reported Sunday.
The Red Sox have contacted Clemens' agents, the Hendricks brothers, to express their interest in the future Hall of Famer if he elects to play in 2006.
Clemens, who was not offered salary arbitration by the Houston Astros, was informed of the contact, and sources close to Clemens said the pitcher reacted positively to the scenario of a return to Boston, according to The Globe.
"We had an internal discussion and concluded we should make an initial call to let the Hendricks brothers know we were open to discuss Roger's return if he should have interest in the Red Sox in 2006," CEO Larry Lucchino told The Globe.
"Nothing further."
Clemens, 42, who was not offered arbitration by the Astros, is a free agent and can't re-sign with Houston until May 1. He has said through his agent that he doesn't expect to make a decision about whether he'll pitch next season until January or February.
But Clemens is committed to play for the U.S. in the World Cup of Baseball, which takes place in March.
Since leaving the Red Sox, Clemens has won 149 games and four Cy Young Award with three different teams: the Blue Jays, Yankees and Astros. Last season he went 13-8 and lead the majors with a 1.87 ERA.
Clemens still has friends in the Boston area, and the Red Sox recently hired old pal Al Nipper as bullpen coach.
Red Sox pitchers Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett have idolized Clemens, and Tim Wakefield is a holdover from Clemens's tenure with the team
