Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said there's no fire to the smoke of the rumors that his team is thinking of trading Kevin Youkilis. In fact, Cherington said he's not even taking calls about a trade for Youkilis.

"The reality is there's nothing going on. We've talked to teams about several things. Yeah, teams have called to check in on Youk. That was a while back, right before he went out on his rehab assignment (in mid-May).

"Right now we're just focused on getting Kevin going. He's an important part of the team and we know when he's clicking and feeling good, he makes our lineup tough to pitch to." (via ESPN Boston)

Cherington blamed the rumors on the performance of Will Middlebrooks while Youkilis has been injured or struggling during the final year of his contract.

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