37-year old switch hitting catcher Jason Varitek appeared to start a slide in performance last season. The Red Sox thought that it was maybe just a bad year so they signed him on for this season. But, it appears that Varitek is getting close to the end of his career which was probably the real motivation for the Victor Martinez trade with the Indians. Varitek has played in 94 games for the Red Sox this season and he is 70 for 319 (.219 avg, .747 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 14 homers and 48 RBIs. Varitek probably wouldn’t accept the job as the backup catcher next season so this year is probably his swan song with the BoSox.

The Red Sox have acquired 28-year old lefty swinging outfielder Joey Gathright from the Orioles for either a player to be named later or cash considerations. Gathright played in 20 games for the Cubs earlier this season and he was 3 for 14 (.214 avg) with 2 runs scored and 1 stolen base. With the Orioles, Gathright played in 80 games this season in AAA-ball and he was 106 for 322 (.329 avg, .762 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 20 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. Gathright will be called up next week when rosters expand and he will immediately become the fastest player on the Red Sox. Gathright has played in 428 games in his major league career and he is 304 for 1,159 (.262 avg, .630 OPS) with 170 runs scored, 1 homer, 96 RBIs and 79 stolen bases. This was another good move for the Red Sox.

The Red Sox have released 31-year old righty starting pitcher Brad Penny. Penny pitched in 24 games (all starts) for the Red Sox this season and he was 7-8 with a 5.61 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Penny allowed 160 hits in only 131 2/3 innings this season for the BoSox and he requested his release because he didn’t want to pitch out of the bullpen. The Red Sox won’t miss him now that Tim Wakefield is back in the rotation.

The Red Sox have acquired 38-year old lefty reliever Billy Wagner from the Mets for two players to be named later. Wagner pitched in 2 games (0 starts) with the Mets this season and he was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.50 WHIP. He whiffed 4 batters in only 2 innings with the Mets showing that his stuff is still there after recovering from Tommy John Surgery. Wagner has now pitched in 767 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 39-37 with 385 saves, a 2.39 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. He has only allowed 555 hits in 820 career innings in the majors and he has 1,070 whiffs which shows what kind of stuff he has. This was a outstanding move for the Red Sox no matter what current closer Jonathan Papelbon says. Papelbon should just learn when to keep his mouth shut and just pitch as the Red Sox’ front office has done a good job of adding talent to the roster to push for a playoff run.

The Red Sox have released 28-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF Chris Duncan. Duncan played in 27 games in AAA-ball for the Red Sox and he was 16 for 85 (.188 avg, .549 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers and 10 RBIs. The Red Sox now have nothing to show for the trade of Julio Lugo and they might have gotten rid of Duncan a tad too soon. Only time will tell.