Red Sox Notebook

The Red Sox haven't come any closer to nabbing Johan Santana in the past few weeks. According to several baseball sources, the Minnesota Twins are expected to gather final offers from all interested parties in January and make a final determination on the fate of the two-time Cy Young Award Winner.

The two teams from the Big Apple, the Mets and the Yankees, have both been mentioned in the mix for the Twins ace, and the Angels, who have been quiet on this front, also figure to have the proper combination of need for an ace, a cabinet full of tantalizing prospects and enough cash at their disposal to pull off a deal.

The Sox have remained rock steady with their offer of left-hander Jon Lester, right-handed sinkerballing prospect Justin Masterson, second baseman Jed Lowrie and center fielder Coco Crisp and had been characterized as the most suitable trade partner with the Twins.

A second school of thought paints the Sox as convenient suitors involved simply to both drive up the bidding price for the Yankees and attempt to keep the left-handed ace out of the American League East if possible.

"I think with some of the things we're discussing, as an organization we all feel as if it's a win-win," Sox GM Theo Epstein said at the winter meetings. "We're in a great position regardless.

"I'll issue the usual caveat, which I really believe in, that baseball is unpredictable and humbling. We might think we're in a great position, and five years from now we'll look back and realize we were in a (bad) position and just didn't know it.

"But we worked hard to get in this position. We feel good about our team on the major league level. We feel good about our future. We're excited to see how it plays out. We're open to opportunities to get better and so, no, it's not nerve-wracking, because either alternative is a good one."


BREWERS INK KAPLER: The market for free agent corner outfielders was so bleak that the Brewers decided to bring one out of retirement.

In a no-risk move that could provide depth to their bench, general manager Doug Melvin signed Gabe Kapler to a non-guaranteed, one-year deal that will pay him $800,000 if he makes the club in spring training. Never mind that Kapler, 32, spent the 2007 season managing in Boston's farm system.

Kapler played for Texas when Melvin was GM there, and Melvin had been interested in bringing him to Milwaukee for years. When Kapler announced his intention to return to playing in 2008, Melvin had West Coast supervisor Bruce Seid and area scout Corey Rodriguez work him out in California.

"They came back raving about him," said Melvin. "They said, 'He's going to play in the big leagues somewhere this year.' He's in great shape."

Kapler, a right-handed hitter, has played in 850 major league games with Detroit, Texas, Colorado and Boston, batting .270 with 64 home runs and 302 RBI. He played in 72 games with the Red Sox in 2006, batting .254 with two home runs and 12 RBI.

Less than a month after Boston won the 2004 World Series, Kapler signed with the Yomiuri Giants of the Japanese Central League. He struggled there and was placed on waivers in July, allowing him to rejoin the Red Sox midway through the '05 season.

But Kapler ruptured his right Achilles tendon late in September of that season and was sidelined until June 2006. Last season, he managed Boston's Class A Greenville (S.C.) affiliate to a 58-81 record before getting the urge to play again.

Known as a superb defensive player, Kapler was used primarily as a platoon player in right field with Trot Nixon while playing for Boston, facing left-handed pitchers.

"We're counting on him bouncing back," said Melvin. "He has been a good defensive outfielder and runs well. We're a little right-handed in the outfield with Billy Hall in center and Corey Hart in right, but we'll throw Gabe in the mix with our other outfielders and let them battle for the left field spot."

This was not the major move Melvin has been looking to make this winter. He has been looking for a third baseman, allowing him to move Ryan Braun to left, or an everyday left fielder who would allow Braun to stay at third.