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Farrell: Uehara rejected Red Sox offer before signing with Cubs

Rick Scuteri / USA TODAY Sports

Veteran reliever Koji Uehara left the Boston Red Sox for the Chicago Cubs this winter, but his former club did try to convince him to stay.

"Koji's a proven late-inning reliever. A very good closer. Was unflappable in the environment in which he pitched in - and that is here in Boston," Red Sox manager John Farrell told reporters Wednesday, according to Christopher Smith of Mass Live. "We made an offer to re-sign him. And yet, it wasn't, as it turned out, to what he expected. And we ended up with the trade of (Tyler) Thornburg."

Farrell didn't reveal what Boston offered, but it was likely less than the one-year, $6-million deal Uehara signed with the Cubs.

Signed as a free agent in 2012, Uehara emerged as one of the most dominant relievers in baseball during his time in Boston and was a key piece of the club's World Series win in 2013. The 41-year-old posted a 2.19 ERA and 0.81 WHIP in 230 games for the Red Sox, making one All-Star appearance.

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