Alleged trade secrets are causing quite a stir

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The history of bad blood between the Red Sox and Devil Rays, replete with beanballs, brawls, and suspensions, is not limited to the field. It has spilled over into the front offices as well, and could have an impact on the trade Boston made yesterday for catcher Javy Lopez.

According to multiple major league sources, the Devil Rays are incensed at the Red Sox for what Tampa Bay officials are convinced was illegal contact between the Sox and the agent for infielder Julio Lugo prior to the trading deadline, before the Devil Rays dealt Lugo to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Red Sox allegedly reached out to the agent, Dan Lozano, about whether Lugo would be willing to play second base and whether Lugo, a prospective free agent this winter, would be open to signing a contract extension. If true, that would constitute tampering, which is not allowed under Major League Baseball rules.

Talks the Devil Rays were conducting with the Sox about possible three- and four-team trade scenarios involving Lugo essentially dried up once Tampa Bay heard reports of the alleged contact between the Sox and Lozano, though sources say the Devil Rays did not confront the Sox or the agent with their suspicions. In the absence of proof, the Devil Rays do not plan to file a grievance against the Sox with the commissioner's office, those sources say.

Tampa Bay general manager Andrew Friedman, asked yesterday afternoon for comment, said, ``We didn't give any team permission to talk with [Lugo's] representatives."

Red Sox GM Theo Epstein was traveling, club officials said, and unavailable for comment. Assistant GM Jed Hoyer, who conducted the conference call announcing the Lopez trade, said in an e-mail he would have no comment on the allegations.

How could this affect the Lopez deal, in which the Sox acquired the veteran catcher from the Baltimore Orioles, along with $1.3 million, for a player to be named or cash considerations? The Orioles expect to receive a player from Boston's 40-man roster, believed to be lefthanded-hitting outfielder Adam Stern or Alejandro Machado, a switch-hitting infielder. But those plans face a potential major snag: Neither player has yet to be placed on waivers, and when they are, the Devil Rays would likely put in a claim, effectively blocking the Orioles from receiving the player they want. The Devil Rays have legitimate interest in both players, but would not be upset if they complicated life for the Red Sox by making a move on either.

Blocking the player the Sox and Orioles agreed upon could conceivably impose a financial penalty on the Red Sox. If the Orioles do not receive a player from the 40-man roster, for example, they might ask to reduce the amount of money they're willing to pay the Sox for taking on the remaining $2.7 million owed Lopez.

Any players offered on waivers do not clear for 72 hours, so it is unlikely the deal will be completed for a week, or more. Hoyer said that under major league rules, teams have six months to identify a player to be named later, but the Orioles supposedly expected receipt of the player in the next week to two weeks, giving them time to evaluate him before setting their roster this winter.

This is not the first time trade talks between the Sox and Devil Rays have turned contentious. Talks last winter regarding Lugo coming to Boston in a three-way deal with Atlanta broke down, as did another three-way scenario last July involving Lugo and Aubrey Huff coming to the Sox as part of a three-way deal with the Mets for Manny Ramírez.

Huff has since been traded to the Houston Astros, while the Dodgers did not make a play for Lugo until less than two hours before the deadline.

While Braves officials refused to confirm a report, which originally appeared in the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, that they had placed star outfielder Andruw Jones on waivers, executives in both leagues said they believed the Braves were just following standard procedure during the waiver period, when teams customarily place many players on waivers because they reserve the right to withdraw the player if another team makes a claim.

ESPN.com reported last night that multiple teams had put in claims on Jones, with one earning the right to attempt to make a deal.

But one executive who has spoken with Atlanta GM John Schuerholz said the Braves have no intentions of making a waiver deal for Jones. Last Sunday, the Sox and Braves had a phone conversation about Jones, in which the Sox asked what it would take to make a deal for Jones, and were told Jon Lester, Craig Hansen, and Coco Crisp.

One National League GM said that even if the Braves did ask waivers on Jones, he would never get to the American League, because an NL team would claim him.

Doug Mirabelli's first-inning injury last night, initially diagnosed as a twisted left ankle, merely underscored the lack of available position players for manager Terry Francona, as the Sox have been carrying 13 pitchers since Trot Nixon went on the disabled with a strained right biceps last Monday.

Francona began the night with just three position players on his bench: Lopez, who entered the game as a pinch hitter for Mirabelli in the third; third baseman Mike Lowell, hobbling badly after fouling pitches off both of his feet this week; and outfielder Gabe Kapler. Mirabelli's injury suggests the Sox may have acted hastily in designating Ken Huckaby for assignment after Thursday's game instead of designating a pitcher (Rudy Seanez?) and carrying a third catcher. The situation clearly will become untenable if allowed to continue.

``We discussed that [Thursday] night," Francona said. ``I guess the best way to answer that is in a perfect world we don't have that, but it's not a perfect world. We certainly talked about it, we tried to figure out ways not to do that, but sometimes the timing doesn't make it easy, especially after the game. I don't think you spend August with 13 pitchers. That probably is not going to work."

Lowell said he has fouled off plenty of pitches that have struck his feet, but he's never experienced the type of pain he has had since fouling a pitch off his left foot Thursday night, one night after he fouled a pitch off his right foot. X-rays were negative, but Lowell was barely able to hobble onto the plane that brought the Sox here, and he was replaced in the starting lineup last night by Alex Cora.

``They said it would feel a lot better today, so I'm hoping. We iced it three times already. We're doing a lot, pushing it along," Lowell said, adding that he was struck at the point where the top of his foot and ankle meet. ``I don't know. I've never gone through this.

``It's not real puffy, but it's real tender. I can't push off it.

``We'll see how I wake up tomorrow. This felt a lot better from one day to the next. They say there are a lot of nerves that go over there. I don't know. They say it's a common hockey injury, guys get hit in the side of the foot with a puck. Whatever bone that is, there are a lot of nerves there. If you jolt something it might feel a lot worse. So hopefully, that's the case and it just feels really bad. Maybe when it settles down, maybe it goes away. I'm hoping it's that."

The single by Tampa Bay shortstop Ben Zobrist off Curt Schilling in the fifth inning, a liner to right, was the first hit of Zobrist's big league career . . . Lopez, citing the desire to wear No. 23, made famous by Michael Jordan, persuaded Cora to give up the number, Cora taking No. 13 . . . Keith Foulke is scheduled to pitch again tonight in Pawtucket, R.I., after throwing a scoreless inning Thursday. Foulke has been telling folks in Pawtucket he plans to join the Sox next week in Kansas City, Mo., but Francona said that remains to be seen . . . Tim Wakefield, on the DL with a stress fracture in his rib, is scheduled to play catch today in Boston, the first throwing he's done since being disabled . . . Schilling owns the last two wins by a Sox starter. He also won July 25 at Oakland, Calif. In the interim, Sox starters were 0-5 with three no-decisions. That includes a 10-4 loss to the Angels in Schilling's last start, last Sunday at Fenway . . . Ramírez matched the best streak of his career by hitting in his 20th straight game, an eighth-inning single after David Ortiz's home run. Ramírez tied Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki for longest streak in the American League this season . . . All six of Ortiz's home runs against the Devil Rays have come here in the Trop. That's the most by any opposing player and the most by Ortiz in any park outside of Fenway . . . Kapler is expected to start in right tonight against former Sox lefthander Casey Fossum . . . The 15 hits allowed by Cleveland's Jake Westbrook in Boston's 7-6 loss Thursday were the most for an opposing winning pitcher at Fenway Park since Dennis Leonard of Kansas City beat the Sox, 5-4, May 17, 1981, despite a yield of 15 hits . . . Remember how Francona received a call in his office before Thursday's game, saw that it was from Kevin Millar, and let the call from Mr. Cowboy Up go into voice mail. Well, Lopez, who played with Millar in Baltimore, had this update: ``He cannot wait to come [to the Sox]. He's dying to come here."