The Red Sox have exercised their 2009 option on 42-year old righty starting pitcher Tim Wakefield valued at $4 million bucks. Wakefield pitched in 30 games (all starts) for the Red Sox in 2008 and he was 10-11 with a 4.13 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Wakefield has now been a member of the Red Sox for 14 seasons in which he has pitched in 504 games (367 starts) and he is 164-145 with 22 saves, a 4.33 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Don’t expect Wakefield to be anything more than a #5 starter who eats innings for the Red Sox in 2009. Still, $4 million bucks is a bargain in a market where Jeff Suppan is worth $12 million bucks a season.

The Red Sox have claimed 26-year old righty starting pitcher Virgil Vasquez off waivers from the Tigers. He was once one of the most highly thought of prospects in the minors so he’s definately worth taking a flyer on. He pitched in 27 games (all starts) in AAA ball last season and he was 12-12 with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Vasquez didn’t pitch in the majors last season but he pitched in 5 games (3 starts) with the Tigers in 2007 and he was 0-1 with a 8.64 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP. It’s always a good thing when you pick up a good arm without giving anything up and that’s exactly what the Red Sox did here.

The Red Sox have outrighted 29-year old righty swinging shortstop Gil Velazquez to AAA making him a free agent. He played in 3 games for the Red Sox in 2008 and he was 1 for 8 (.125 avg, .250 OPS) with 1 RBI. He also played in 101 games in AAA and he was 91 for 350 (.260 avg, .727 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 10 homers, 46 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Red Sox won’t miss Velazquez too much as he likely appears to be a career minor league player.

34-year old starting 3B Mike Lowell had surgery on his right hip which will likely have him good to go for the 2009 season. It will be interesting to see if the Red Sox try to keep Lowell or trade him and start Kevin Youkilis at 3B. Lowell played in 113 games for the Red Sox this season and he was 115 for 419 (.274 avg, .799 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 17 homers and 73 RBIs. The Red Sox better be darn sure that if they move Lowell and bring in a 1B that he’s a much better hitter than him because the defense will likely suffer a bit with Youkilis at 3B. Lowell has played three seasons in Boston covering 320 games in which he is 469 for 1,581 (.297 avg) with 216 runs scored, 58 homers and 273 RBIs.

The Red Sox have designated righty reliever Chris Smith for assignment. Smith pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox last season and he was 1-0 with a 7.85 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Smith had a huge issue with gopher balls with the Red Sox as he allowed 6 homers in only 18.1 innings. Smith wasn’t too bad in AAA last year so some team will likely give him a chance next season. He pitched in 37 games (4 starts) in AAA last season for the Red Sox and he was 1-5 with 15 saves, a 3.19 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. The Red Sox likely won’t miss Smith too much in the future.