Red Sox’ Youkilis could be headed to South Side

Trade talks involving Boston Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis heated up Saturday — on several fronts.

While White Sox general manager Kenny Williams predictably declined to address the situation, speculation continued that Youkilis will be landing on the South Side in the very near future.

The White Sox have an obvious need for a third baseman, considering the four players they’ve used at the position this season — Brent Morel, Orlando Hudson, Eduardo Escobar and Brent Lillibridge — have combined for 1 home run and 19 RBI.

Youkilis is not even close to the player who batted .312 with 29 home runs and 115 RBI for Boston in 2008. However, the 33-year-old infielder would be an instant upgrade over Hudson, who took over at third when Morel went down with a back injury.

Youkilis, who has a hitting line of .225/.311/.359 to go along with 4 home runs and 13 RBI in 41 games this season, has been pushed out of the Red Sox’ starting lineup by Will Middlebrooks.

Youkilis sat out for the third straight game Saturday, and he has not been happy all season under new manager Bobby Valentine.

“You want to play,” Youkilis told reporters Saturday. “I definitely want to play the game and enjoy it and have fun. I don’t know my situation. To be honest, I was never told what’s going on here. Let’s get that straight.”

That sure sounds like a player anxious to change uniforms, but the White Sox are just one of several teams interested in Youkilis. The Indians, Pirates, Braves, Dodgers and Rangers also are rumored to be in the mix to varying degrees.

A potential key for the White Sox is Boston’s reported willingness to pick up much of the $7.5 million remaining on Youkilis’ contract.

The White Sox might be willing to part with a veteran relief pitcher such as Matt Thornton or Jesse Crain to get Youkilis, but they are unlikely to move rookie relievers Addison Reed or Nate Jones, and forget about minor-league starting pitchers Simon Castro and Pedro Hernandez.

If the price and trade package is right, Williams could try to pull a trade for Youkilis before the weekend is out. Until something happens, Sox manager Robin Ventura doesn’t have much to say about trade rumors.

“You hear them and guys will sit there and talk about stuff,” Ventura said. “You can’t react to them or respond to them unless they become true. For me, there’s no sense of looking at it any other way until something happens. Then you react to it.”