Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated says that despite the lack of noise, the contract extension talks between Josh Beckett and the Boston Red Sox are strong and progress is being made. Heyman expects that a deal will be in place in the coming weeks and does not expect that Beckett to hit the free agent market after the season.

The deal is expected to be slightly north of John Lackey’s $82.5 million, five-year free-agent contract with the Red Sox.

Last week, Nick Carfardo of the Boston Globe said the toughest part of the Beckett negotiations is getting the Sox fair injury protection while still making certain Beckett gets what he’s worth. “There’s been a lot of back and forth on that issue already,” said the source.  “This is something that may take some time.  If it’s a shorter deal of three years, the language may not be required or it may be scaled down.  If it’s longer, then the language would likely have to be included.”  Beckett’s agent Michael Moye is looking at a number of ways to make this part of the deal happen.  The market for pitching appears to have shrunk the past two years, so it may behoove Beckett to sign now.