Joe Saunders (AP)

According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via twitter), the Red Sox are one of a “few teams” interested in Diamondbacks left-hander Joe Saunders. Arizona appears to be gauging the trade value of Saunders after consummating a deal with the A’s for right-handed starter Trevor Cahill.

Saunders, 30, was 12-13 with a 3.69 ERA in 33 starts and 212 innings for Arizona last year. According to fangraphs.com, Saunders’ average fastball velocity dropped to 89.6 mph in 2011, the lowest of his career; whether coincidence or not, he also featured the lowest strikeout rate of his career (4.6 per nine innings).

Still, the arbitration-eligible Saunders (who earned $5.5 million last year) is a durable left-hander who has made at least 31 starts in each of the last four seasons with the Angels (the team that selected him in the first round of the 2002 draft) and Diamondbacks. Durability could be particularly significant for the Sox given the possibility that the team could be moving either Alfredo Aceves or Daniel Bard (or both) to a rotation that did not have a single starter deliver 200 innings last year.

That said, it is fair to wonder just how extensive the Sox’ interest in the pitcher might be. He lacks swing-and-miss stuff, and the Sox are mindful of building a pitching staff that can withstand the rigors of the American League East. For instance, the team recently showed little interest in trading for former Rockies closer Huston Street — a pitcher who struck out a batter an inning last year — because it felt that, despite a limited acquisition cost, his stuff would not translate to the AL East. (Street instead ended up being traded by the Rockies to another NL West team, the Padres.)

Saunders is considered by some in the industry to be a non-tender candidate. As such, it is possible that he could be available at a relatively low cost (in terms of prospects). Alternately, if the Sox are indeed exploring the possibility of trading for Saunders, it could also position them to move quickly should he be non-tendered and reach free agency.

In five career regular season starts at Fenway Park, the left-hander is 3-1 with a 4.60 ERA, 20 strikeouts and 15 walks. In seven big league seasons, he is 69-52 with a 4.16 ERA.