The Red Sox have acquired Eric Gagne from the Rangers but the price was pretty high.  The Red Sox sent lefty starter Kason Gabbard and outfielders David Murphy and Engel Beltre to the Rangers.  Gagne will make the Red Sox bullpen even more awesome than it already is as he will share the set-up role with Hideki Ojakima in front of closer Jonathan Papelbon.  Gagne has been great for the Rangers as their closer so far this season.  In 34 games for the Rangers this season he was 2-0 with 16 saves, a 2.16 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP.  Gagne worked 33.1 innings this season for the Rangers and he allowed only 23 hits, walked 12 batters and whiffed 29.  Gagne has been a great pitcher for a long time now and that will continue with the Red Sox.  Gagne has pitched in 332 major league games in his career and he has a record of 27-21 with 177 saves, a 3.20 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.  In 578.2 career innings in the majors he has allowed only 446 hits, walked 195 batters and whiffed an amazing 658!

Kason Gabbard has pitched well for the Red Sox this season and that’s why the Rangers wanted him.  He started 7 games this season for the Red Sox and he was 4-0 with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.  In 41 innings with the BoSox Gabbard allowed 28 hits, walked 18 batters and whiffed 29.  The Red Sox also gave up 25 year old lefty swinging outfielder David Murphy who plays a similar style of game to Mark Kotsay of the A’s.  Murphy has played in 100 AAA games this season and he was 112 for 400 (.280 avg, .769 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 9 homers, 47 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  The third player that the Red Sox traded the Rangers was 17 year old lefty swinging Engel Beltre.  Beltre has played in 33 Rookie League games this season and he was 26 for 121 (.215 avg, .728 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 5 homers, 13 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.

The Red Sox have traded reliever Joel Pineiro and cash to the Cardinals for a player to be named later.  The Red Sox experiment to convert Pineiro into a short reliever failed but at least they got rid of him and cut their losses.  He pitched in 31 games for the Red Sox this season and he was 1-1 with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP.  Pineiro threw 34 innings this season and he allowed 41 hits, walked 14 batters and whiffed 20.  The Red Sox have to be happy to get rid of Pineiro and get something for him.

The Red Sox have signed outfielder Brady Clark to a minor league contract.  Clark has played in 47 games this season for the Dodgers and he was 13 for 58 (.224 avg, .601 OPS) with 7 runs scored and 5 RBIs.  Clark is a much better hitter than he has showed this season as he has a career batting average of .277 and he has a .742 OPS in 757 games.  Clark will definately get called up by the Red Sox at some point this season and he will help them.

John Lester made a triumphant return to the Boston Red Sox last night.  He was the winning pitcher in his first appearance of the season for the Red Sox by pitching 6 innings and allowing only 5 hits, 2 earned runs, walking 3 batters and whiffing 6.  Lester has replaced Julian Tavarez who will now work in long relief.  Tavarez has started 18 games this season for the Red Sox and he is 5-8 with a 5.27 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP.  In 97.1 innings Tavarez has allowed 114 hits, walked 36 batters and whiffed 59.

Julian Tavarez and Joel Pineiro have both had rough starts to the 2007 season.  Tavarez has been in the starting rotation all season long because of injuries and he hasn’t pitched too well.  Tavarez is 5-7 with a 4.97 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP so far this season and it will be hard for him to keep his spot in the rotation pitching like that.  Pineiro was converted from a starter to the bullpen this season and he’s had a hard time adjusting to his new role.  He is 1-1 with a 5.04 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP this season.  He’s in danger of getting released if he doesn’t pick up the pace soon.