The Red Sox signed Nomar Garciaparra to a 1-day contract yesterday so that he could retire as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Garciaparra played 9 years for the Red Sox in which he played in 966 games. In those 966 games, Garciaparra was 1,281 of 3,968 (.323 avg, .923 OPS) with 709 runs scored, 178 homers, 690 RBIs and 84 stolen bases. Garciaparra was an All-Star 5 times for the Red Sox and he was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1997. This was a class move by the Red Sox for a very classy player.

The Red Sox have claimed 26-year old righty reliever Casey Fien off waivers. Fien pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Tigers last season and he was 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. Fien also pitched in 42 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 2-1 with 14 saves, a 3.41 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Fien only allowed 51 hits in 58 innings in AAA last season in the minors while whiffing 66 batters which is probably what caught the eye of the Red Sox.

UPDATE: The Red Sox tried to sneak Fien back through waivers so that they could send him to the minors but the Blue Jays claimed him.

The Red Sox have released 23-year old lefty reliever Jose Capellan. Capellan pitched in 29 games (16 starts) in A-ball last season and he was 6-4 with 1 save, a 6.34 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. He pitched 4 years in the Red Sox’ minor league system appearing in 69 games (51 starts) and he was 17-14 with 1 save, a 4.64 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. The Red Sox have not seen any improvement from Capellan as a pitcher so they had no problem getting rid of him.

The Red Sox have claimed 23-year old righty starting pitcher Gaby Hernandez off waivers from the Mariners. He pitched in 26 games (all starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 10-9 with a 5.23 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Hernandez has now pitched in 137 games (134 starts) in his minor league career and he is 46-45 with a 4.27 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Hernandez was once a highly thought of prospect so it won’t hurt the Red Sox to give him a chance this season in the minors.

UPDATE: The Red Sox have DFA’d Hernandez to make room for Casey Fien on the roster.

UPDATE II: Hernandez has been claimed off waivers from the Royals.

The Red Sox have signed 35-year old righty reliever Joe Nelson to a minor league deal. He pitched in 42 games (0 starts) for the Rays last season and he was 3-0 with 3 saves, a 4.02 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Nelson has now pitched in 149 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 7-2 with 13 saves, a 4.07 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. I would be stunned if Nelson makes the Red Sox pitching staff out of spring training as he has big issues with control.