--RHP Clay Buchholz and OF Jacoby Ellsbury have been largely considered untouchable prospects this season, but both were named in a potential deal for Florida Marlins SS Hanley Ramirez, according to SI.com. Ramirez was a Red Sox minor league prospect before being dealt for RHP Josh Beckett and 3B Mike Lowell before the 2006 season and has developed into the kind of middle-of-the-order bat that the Red Sox are seeking. Until the most recent rumors, teams were reportedly told that Buchholz wasn't available in trades this winter.
--RHP Derek Lowe earlier expressed a sincere interest in returning to the East Coast and a preference for returning to the Red Sox, but the signing of RHP Brad Penny seems to have ended any chance of signing Lowe. With Penny in the fold and expected to adopt RHP Josh Beckett's intense between-starts regimen, RHP Clay Buchholz will likely begin next season in the minor leagues provided that all the Red Sox starters remain healthy. --OF Rocco Baldelli will be honored with the Tony Conigliaro Award at the BBWAA Awards Dinner at the Westin Waterfront in Boston on Jan. 8. The award is bestowed on a player who has overcome adversity in order to play in the big leagues. Baldelli, a Rhode Island native, is a free agent outfielder shopping his services to several teams, including the Red Sox, as a reserve outfielder.
--2B Dustin Pedroia will be in attendance at the BBWAA Awards Dinner on Jan. 8 and will accept his American League MVP Award during the evening's scheduled events. In addition to collecting his AL hardware, Pedroia also will be on hand to collect the chapter's Thomas A. Yawkey Award as Red Sox MVP. It's the first time the MVP will be awarded at the dinner since former Boston 1B Mo Vaughn collected his AL MVP Award in 1996.
--C Jason Varitek continues to be one of the least talked-about free agents on the market and doesn't seem to have any potential suitors beyond a return to the Red Sox. Varitek and agent Scott Boras were seeking a Jorge Posada-type four-year deal, but it seems as if the 36-year-old backstop might have to settle for a one-year contract at best.
BY THE NUMBERS: 10 -- Passed balls C Josh Bard allowed while catching RHP Tim Wakefield during his abbreviated stint with the Sox in 2006.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "With our catching situation open for the moment, we felt like 'buying low' on Josh Bard was a good opportunity. He's someone we trust to call a game, to handle pitchers, to shoulder responsibility behind the plate and to grind his at-bats. We believe his health situation was the primary factor in his offensive and defensive performance last year, and we feel he is healthy and has a chance to bounce back. Whether he catches Tim Wakefield or not -- and he certainly has conviction that he can -- he adds a lot to our catching corps, including the versatility to be a nice complement or more as the situation dictates." -- General manager Theo Epstein, discussing the club's rationale in bringing back C Josh Bard as a free agent.
