The Red Sox have signed 38-year old righty reliever Takashi Saito to a 1-year contract with a team option for 2010. If Saito is healthy (he had a sprained ligament in his right elbow last season) this will be a steal for the Red Sox. Saito pitched in 45 games (0 starts) last season for the Dodgers and he was 4-4 with 18 saves, a 2.49 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He has now pitched in 180 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 12-7 with 81 saves, a 1.95 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. Saito has nasty stuff as evidenced by the fact that he only has allowed 121 hits in his career while whiffing 245 batters in only 189.2 innings. This was a outstanding low risk/high reward move for the Red Sox.

The Red Sox have lost 28-year old righty Dewon Day and 26-year old righty Virgil Vasquez on waivers. Vasquez was picked up by the Padres and Day was picked up by the rival Tampa Bay Rays. With all of the recent signings the Red Sox have made they needed room on the roster making both Vasquez and Day expendable. The Red Sox won’t miss either of these guys.

The Boston Red Sox have re-signed 33-year old lefty swinging outfielder Mark Kotsay to a 1-year, $1.5 million dollar contract. Kotsay played in 22 games for the Red Sox last season and he was 19 for 84 (.226 avg, .631 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 12 RBIs. He has now played in 1,450 games in his major league career and he is 1,524 for 5,419 (.281 avg, .751 OPS) with 709 runs scored, 109 homers, 609 RBIs and 91 stolen bases. This was a good move for the Red Sox as the bench looks good heading into the 2009 season.

The Red Sox have signed 41-year old righty starting pitcher John Smoltz to a 1-year deal. Smoltz pitched in 6 games (5 starts) in his major league career and he is 3-2 with a 2.57 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He has now pitched in 708 games (466 starts) in his major league career and he is 210-147 with 154 saves, a 3.26 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. The Red Sox are taking a gamble here due to Smoltz’ recent health problems but if he can stay healthy the Red Sox have a top of the rotation starting pitcher. The Red Sox have designated 29-year old righty knuckleballer Charlie Zink for assignment to make room on the big league roster for Smoltz. Zink started only 1 game for the Red Sox last season and he was 0-0 with a 16.62 ERA and a 2.77 WHIP. He also started 28 games in AAA last season and he was 14-6 with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. The Red Sox won’t miss Zink much in the future as they are loaded with starting pitching right now.

The Red Sox have signed 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Rocco Baldelli to a 1-year contract. Baldelli played in 28 games for the Rays last season and he was 21 for 80 (.263 avg, .819 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 4 homers and 13 RBIs. He has now played in 447 games in his major league career and he is 488 for 1,736 (.281 avg, .770 OPS) with 255 runs scored, 52 homers, 234 RBIs and 58 stolen bases. The Red Sox are hoping that Baldelli will be able to stay healthy enough to be their #4 outfielder in 2009.