Door on Gagne is closed

With Eric Gagne apparently in position to sign for considerably more money than the Red Sox were willing to offer, general manager Theo Epstein has all but exhausted plausible free agent alternatives for a closer and will have little choice but to continue exploring a trade.

The Sox, believing Gagne was on the verge of signing a one-year deal for $6 million, with an additional $5 million in performance incentives, with one of two teams -- the Indians or Rangers were his rumored destinations -- yesterday dropped out of the running for the former Dodger, who has been limited to 15 1/3 innings over the past two years because of elbow and back surgeries. The day before, the Sox saw their offer for Octavio Dotel, who spent last season recovering from Tommy John elbow reconstructive surgery, trumped by a surprise suitor, the Kansas City Royals, who gave Dotel a one-year deal for $4 million, with an additional $2 million in incentives.

Epstein spent a good deal of his time at the winter meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on the closer issue, talking to the Dodgers about Jonathan Broxton, the Mariners about J.J. Putz, and the Padres about Scott Linebrink, among others. Where does he turn from here? If he wants to stick with the Japanese motif, Epstein could press the Rangers about Akinori Otsuka, who had 32 saves in 36 chances last season, posting a 2.11 ERA. The Rangers, having lost Gary Matthews Jr. to the Angels in free agency, are in the market for a center fielder, raising the question of whether the Sox would dangle Coco Crisp.

According to another club, the Sox and Rangers have been talking about a lesser deal, one in which the Sox would acquire 6-foot-7-inch righthander Kameron Loe for outfield prospect David Murphy, but the teams are not believed to be close.

Epstein had little to say about a column by Murray Chass in yesterday's New York Times that raised the issue of whether the Sox were guilty of tampering in their pursuit of free agent outfielder J.D. Drew. Drew's agent, Scott Boras, announced this week that Drew had come to terms with the Sox on a five-year, $70 million deal after exercising an out clause in his contract and leaving three years and $33 million on the table.

In a story headlined, "Talk of Misconduct Swirling Around the Red Sox," Chass, relying primarily on anonymous sources, suggested that the topic was a popular one at the winter meetings, and that it was possible the Dodgers would file a charge of tampering with the commissioner's office.

Robert Dupuy, CEO of Major League Baseball, said he "has not heard of anything," on the topic. Ned Colletti, the GM of the Dodgers who did little to hide his annoyance at Drew for opting out of his contract after telling the Dodgers he was staying, addressed the issue briefly in a conference call yesterday.

"We've looked into it," Colletti said, "but beyond that, I don't have anything to say at this point."

"There was no tampering by the Red Sox," Epstein said.

Boras was adamant in refuting tampering allegations, telling Chass, "I did my due diligence. There were a number of teams that need ed a 3, 4, or 5 hitter, and J.D. was the only center fielder. I went to the Dodgers a week before the opt-out date and had lunch with Colletti. I had not yet met with J.D. I said if you want to talk about it, we are prepared to talk because J.D. has enjoyed his time in LA."

Through a Dodgers spokesman, Colletti also refuted Chass's allegation that there was a rift between Colletti and Epstein, and that he refused to take Epstein's phone calls in Orlando. "They probably talked about 20 times last week," said spokesman Josh Rawitch. Indeed, when Colletti arrived at the meetings late last Sunday night from the Dominican Republic, one of his first orders of business was to conduct an hourlong face-to-face meeting with Epstein on a possible deal for Manny Ramírez.

While the issue has not been raised by the Sox, it would seem the club could make a case that Dodgers manager Grady Little last week exposed himself to an accusation of tampering when he was in the Dominican Republic and told a newspaper reporter that Ramírez would "make a nice Christmas present." Little and Dodgers bench coach Dave Jauss were with Ramírez in the past, Little with the Red Sox and Indians, Jauss with the Sox, and they conceivably could be subject to scrutiny for any potential contact with Ramírez if the Dodgers were to formally complain about the Sox.

One other component of the Dodgers-Red Sox relationship not mentioned in the Times article: Sox owner John W. Henry and Dodgers owner Frank McCourt have a relationship that Henry in the past has described as close, and while Henry would not comment on the Times piece, it is known that he and McCourt have spoken on several occasions since Drew left the Dodgers and did not raise the issue of tampering with the Sox owner.

The Sox are offering fans the opportunity to purchase 2007 Sox Pax as well as single-game tickets to 16 selected April and May games, beginning today at 10 a.m. Because of ongoing construction at Fenway Park, single-game ticket sales will primarily be handled online at redsox.com or by calling 24-hour touch-tone ticketing at (617) 482-4SOX beginning at 10 a.m. Fans purchasing Sox Pax may do so online at redsox.com. For accessible seating, call (877) RED-SOX9 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. today (while supplies last). The Red Sox' TTY number for hearing-impaired fans is (617) 226-6644.

Gordon Edes can be reached at edes@globe.com.