BOSTON (CBS) – As the dust settles on the major blockbuster trade between the Toronto Blue Jays and Miami Marlins Wednesday morning, it turns out the Red Sox were interested in doing a much smaller trade with the Marlins.

According to The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo, Red Sox GM Ben Cherington was working on a deal that would have brought shortstop Jose Reyes and righthander Josh Johnson to Boston. According to Peter Gammons, the Marlins wanted third baseman Will Middlebrooks, lefthander Felix Doubront, shortstop prospect Xander Bogaerts and more in return.

The Red Sox have long coveted Johnson, and were reportedly discussing deals with the Marlins at the trade deadline last season.

But none of that matters now that both of the players are heading up north, along with lefthander Mark Buehrle, infielder Emilio Bonifacio, and catcher John Buck.

What this does show is Ben Cherington’s willingness to explore all of his options this off-season.  On Tuesday, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman told 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Gresh & Zolak that Cherington and the Red Sox were one of the teams in on nearly every conversation at last week’s GM’s meetings in California.