Rick Hahn had nothing new to report with the pursuit of Kevin Youkilis, which has pretty much turned into the high-octane chase scene in "Mitchell."
However, Joe Bick, Youkilis' agent, said Youkilis finished the season in better shape than in years past. Per Dan Hayes:
Bick said his client is in good health for the first time in three offseasons. Youkilis had surgery on his thumb at the conclusion of the 2010 seasons and underwent hernia surgery after 2011.
"It’s the best that he’s been in several years," Bick said. "Completely healthy. The good news is he hasn’t spent a minute this winter rehabbing anything. Feels good. Feels strong. Everything is going great."
That's great timing for him, being a contract year and everything. It also seems like Alex Rodriguez's recently announced impending hip surgery would boost Youkilis' stock even further, but Bick said the tempo and urgency of the talks had not yet changed.