--C Mark Wagner, LHP Felix Doubront, and LHP Hunter Jones all had their contracts purchased by the Red Sox and were added to Boston's 40 man roster. Wagner hit .219 with 10 home runs and 48 RBIs in 94 games for the Double-A Sea Dogs last season. More recently, Wagner was hitting .288 with four home runs and eight RBIs through 18 Arizona Fall League games. Jones went 7-3 with a 2.45 ERA and 12 saves in 48 games between Class AA Portland (Maine) and Class AAA Pawtucket last season. Doubront went a combined 13-9 with a 3.69 ERA in 26 starts for low Class A Greenville and high Class A Lancaster.
--RHP Ramon Ramirez was acquired by the Red Sox in a deal that sent speedy OF Coco Crisp to the Royals. Ramirez put up a 2.64 ERA in 71 games out of the Royals bullpen last season and struck out an impressive 70 batters. The 2008 season served as a nice rebound campaign for the 27-year-old Dominican hurler, whom Boston GM Theo Epstein described as having a "plus fastball 92 to 95 mph with an outstanding power changeup at 87 to 88 mph that's a swing-and-miss pitch for both right-handed and left-handed hitters." The Reds were also reportedly in on the talks for Crisp, but Epstein ultimately decided on the Royals' offer of a potentially valuable reliever. --OF Paul McAnulty signed a contract with the Red Sox after spending portions of four seasons with the San Diego Padres. The 28-year-old left-handed hitter can play both corner outfield spots as well as first base. He hit .207 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 66 games with the Padres last season. McAnulty has been described in the past as a "Matt Stairs" type baseball player, and he was originally signed as a San Diego draft pick by current Sox scouting director Jason MacLeod. McAnulty gives the Sox more organizational depth, but he isn't considered an overwhelmingly strong candidate for Boston's fourth outfielder vacancy.
--RHP A.J. Burnett, LHP CC Sabathia, RHP Derek Lowe and 1B Mark Teixeira have all been mentioned as possible big-ticket free agents that the Red Sox have discussed internally in some capacity this offseason. Boston GM Theo Epstein has reportedly talked with Burnett's agent, Darek Braunecker, and also recently requested one of Lowe's informational binders from agent Scott Boras.
--Third base coach DeMarlo Hale and bench coach Brad Mills are both set to return to the Boston coaching staff after each candidate missed the final cut for the Mariners' managerial post. Both Hale and Mills carry strong reputations around the game that should result in more opportunities for a big-league managerial position. "I appreciated being one of the chosen ones to go through the process," Hale told the Boston Globe. "Just getting that chance to go through that process, then the next step happens. Then you get the chance to have the managerial title and go forward. We'll see."
BY THE NUMBERS: .153 -- Batting average for right-handed hitters vs. newly acquired RHP Ramon Ramirez in 137 at-bats last season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I think when we acquired Coco, he was coming off an age-25 season in which he posted impressive numbers. For whatever reasons, those trend lines didn't continue with us. Injuries played a factor, and the ballpark played a factor. Right field took a lot of home runs away from Coco (at Fenway Park). He didn't necessarily make all the (offensive) strides that we had hoped for." -- GM Theo Epstein, discussing OF Coco Crisp's career with the Red Sox.
