The Red Sox have acquired 29-year old righty swinging outfielder Chip Ambres for future considerations. Ambres played in 52 games in AAA-ball for the Red Sox and he was 48 for 185 (.259 avg, .703 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 3 homers, 18 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. This will be no loss to the Red Sox who are very deep in the outfield.

The Red Sox can’t afford to keep playing David Ortiz unless he starts hitting…..soon! Ortiz has played in 38 games for the Red Sox this season and he is 30 for 146 (.205 avg, .625 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 1 homer and 18 RBIs. He often looks lost at the plate as he has whiffed 37 times already this season often looking very bad doing it. The BoSox have started sending out feelers for trade matches and one rumor has them interested in veteran firstbaseman Nick Johnson of the Nationals. The Nationals covet Manny Delcarmen so maybe there is a match. If the Red Sox don’t want to give up Delcarmen then they can look for a cheaper alternative like the Indians’ Ryan Garko. Still, they can’t give Ortiz more than a couple of more weeks to get his bat going.

The Red Sox have re-acquired 27-year old lefty starting pitcher Kason Gabbard from the Rangers for cash considerations. Gabbard pitched in 5 games (0 starts) in AAA for the Rangers this season and he was 0-1 with a 10.50 ERA and a 3.50 WHIP. Gabbard has pitched in 34 games (31 starts) in his major league career to date and he is 9-7 with a 4.53 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. He should provide good depth in AAA for the Red Sox who might need him at some point in 2009.

The Red Sox have placed backup outfielder Rocco Baldelli on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring. Baldelli has played in 5 games for the Red Sox this season and he is 3 for 13 (.231 avg, .517 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. The Red Sox have recalled 1B Jeff Bailey to replace Baldelli on the roster. In his first game with the Red Sox this season he was 1 for 2 with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. Bailey has also played in 12 games in AAA-ball so far this season and he was 12 for 47 (.255 avg, .918 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 4 homers and 7 RBIs. The Red Sox will miss Baldelli especially with J.D. Drew going down to injury at any time.

The Red Sox have placed righty starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka on the 15-day disabled list due to a case of arm fatigue. The fatigue is no doubt related to the stupid World Baseball Classic which accelarates pitch counts before pitching arms are ready. Matsuzaka has started 2 games for the Red Sox so far this season and he is 0-1 with a 12.79 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP. Dice-K has allowed a stunning 14 hits and three homers in only 6.1 innings this season while walking 5 batters. The Red Sox will replace Matsuzaka in the starting rotation with either Clay Buchholz or Justin Masterson. Masterson has pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox so far this season and he is 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He has whiffed 7 batters while only walking 1 in 6 innings so far this season for the Red Sox. Clay Buchholz pitched well this spring for the Red Sox. He has started 1 game in AAA-ball this year and he is 0-0 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. Buchholz probably has the higher upside as a starting pitcher but the Red Sox will likely go with Masterson.