--C Kevin Cash signed a minor league deal with the Yankees that could pay out $700,000, after the Sox had declined to tender a contract offer to the veteran backup following the winter meetings. Cash had served as a good-glove/no-hit backstop for the last two seasons in Boston and had seemingly mastered the time-honored art of catching RHP Tim Wakefield's knuckleball. At the moment, the Sox don't have any big league-ready backstops on their major league roster.

--1B Kevin Youkilis and the Sox had discussed a contract extension this winter, but Youkilis' agent Joe Bick told the Boston Globe that he's optimistic about coming to an agreement. Youkilis is only two seasons away from free agency -- a much different spot along the arbitration ladder than teammate 2B Dustin Pedroia -- and it would have taken a significant three- to five- year deal to lock up the All-Star, Gold Glove first baseman. "We're going to concentrate our efforts from this point forward on getting a one-year deal done, whether it's negotiated or otherwise," Bick told the Globe. "That's where we stand going forward."

--C Jason Varitek remains on the free agent market and seemingly without much interest from any of the teams in need of a catcher. Agent Scott Boras and the Red Sox had engaged in discussions and even put an offer out in the early days of December, but all has been quiet on both sides since Boras and Mark Teixeira dropped the Yankees' bomb on the Sox. The Sox front office is continuing to explore opportunities to trade for young catching, with both Arizona C Miguel Montero and Texas C Jarrod Saltalamacchia on the radar screen.

--Manager Terry Francona had bittersweet sentiments when discussing the return of nearly all of Boston's coaching staff for next season. Bench coach Brad Mills and third-base coach DeMarlo Hale both got interviews for vacant managerial posts. "I was thrilled that there was interest in them as managers. How do you sit there when two guys are interviewing, and it's hard to root for one guy? It's just not fair," Francona said. "Saying that, when I heard that they were both coming back, I guess I was disappointed for them. But I was thrilled for us. That's about as honest as I can be. I've known Millsy for the better part since my freshman year of college. How could I not want what's best for him?

"At the same time, I want him in our dugout because I know what he means to us. Same for DeMarlo."

--OF Jacoby Ellsbury will inherit the full-time center field job next season with the offseason trade of OF Coco Crisp to the Kansas City Royals, and he will be counted to improve his numbers from the leadoff spot in his second full big-league season. Ellsbury battled through a left wrist injury last season but should be fully healthy and primed for a breakout year. "I thought he was beat up at times like everybody," manager Terry Francona said. "The one thing that he always has and you can't forget, as long as his legs are healthy, sometimes, guys like Jacoby, they can be swinging the bat bad and actually get more hits. As long as he uses the whole field and stays on top of the ball and uses his bunts, those slumps should not last that long."

BY THE NUMBERS: 3 -- The number of Sox players -- RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka, 2B Dustin Pedroia, and 1B Kevin Youkilis -- who have agreed to participate in the World Baseball Classic for their home countries thus far.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "From the moment we arrived in Boston in late 2001, we saw it as a monumental challenge. We sought to reduce the financial gap (between the teams) and succeeded to a degree. Now with a new stadium filled with revenue opportunities, they have leaped away from us again. So we have to be even more careful in deploying our resources." -- Principal owner John Henry in an e-mail to the Associated Press discussing the Red Sox's ongoing competition with the New York Yankees.