Kapler opts for retirement

At age 31, Gabe Kapler is calling it quits as a player but will manage the Red Sox' Single A affiliate Greenville Drive. (FILE/BARRY CHIN/GLOBE STAFF)

Retirement at age 31? Of course, Gabe Kapler said, he expects he'll feel the urge to play when he shows up in Fort Myers next spring.

"I think the likelihood will be there for several years to come, when I say to myself, 'I can still be playing baseball,' " Kapler said. "But I don't think there will be that moment where I regret this decision.

"I feel confident that at the end of the day I'm going to look myself in the mirror and say, 'I made the right choice here,' because it's not about me but about the lives I have the opportunity to impact."

The decision Kapler made, which was announced in conjunction with his decision to retire, was to accept a job with the Red Sox as manager of the Single A Greenville Drive in the South Atlantic League. Three years ago, Kapler made a memorable debut with the Sox -- 7 hits in 9 at-bats against the Marlins, including 2 doubles, a triple, 2 home runs, and 7 RBIs in Fenway Park -- and endeared himself to Sox fans with his passion, energy, and status in the clubhouse as a great teammate.

Now, after earning admiration for his comeback last season from Achilles' tendon surgery, Kapler is embarking on the next stage of his career in a world far removed from big-league glamour and money.

Many former players have balked at going back to the lower minors. Kapler said he couldn't be happier.

"Do you know me to be a guy scared of that kind of thing?" he said.

He remembers players telling him they wouldn't go back to the minors.

"I thought to myself, 'Why not?' " he said. "You have to prepare to be good at something. Essentially, it's going back to school. You're going to learn how to manage.

"I see the minor leagues not only as a place where I can learn and develop, but I'm going to be rewarded emotionally and spiritually. To have an extreme impact on somebody's life can be much more powerful than hitting a home run." He finishes his major league career with a .270 average, 64 homers, and 302 RBIs in 850 games with Detroit, Texas, Colorado, and Boston.

Owner goes to bat

Sox owner John W. Henry, in the midst of a conversation about Daisuke Matsuzaka late Monday night, was asked how he felt about the Sox not trading Manny Ramírez last week.

"It's a sense of relief for me," said Henry. "I want to see him in that 4-spot."

Henry did not rule out the possibility Ramírez could yet be traded, but if the man with the deepest pockets doesn't want to trade him, you have to think it's not happening.

But what about Manny's oft-repeated desire to be traded?

"He hasn't told me that," Henry said. "We have a very good relationship."

That hasn't always been the case. Henry was on the receiving end when Ramírez raged about "white devils" trying to trade him to Texas in the aborted Alex Rodriguez deal.

An Alomar option

On the backup catcher front, the Sox continue to talk to Doug Mirabelli's agents, the Levinson brothers, with another viable option being Sandy Alomar Jr. Alomar is 40 and can't throw out anyone (22 of 25 base-stealers were successful against him last season), but he brings some positives as well. He's probably cheaper than Mirabelli (he made $650,000 last season to Mirabelli's $1.5 million), he's caught the knuckleball before (Tom Candiotti), he was an unofficial mentor to Ramírez in Cleveland, he's still capable of popping the occasional timely hit ( despite only three home runs since the end of 2003), and he's universally respected in the game . . . Possible trade targets include Chad Cordero of the Nationals, Akinori Otsuka of the Rangers, and Mike Gonzalez of the Pirates.

Interesting guy

General manager Theo Epstein confirmed the Sox' interest in Masumi Kuwata, a 38-year-old veteran of 21 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants, the Yankees of Japan baseball. Kuwata is a former ace with the Giants who is clearly at the end of his career, having ERAs of over 6 in three straight seasons with the Giants before injuring an ankle and getting relegated to the minors for most of last season. Epstein said that if the sides reach an agreement, Kuwata would be given a minor league deal and an invitation to spring training . . . The Sox planned to tender all 19 of their unsigned players by last night's midnight deadline . . . For procedural reasons, the Red Sox did not call a press conference yesterday to officially announce the signings of free agents Julio Lugo and J.D. Drew . . . Speaking of Drew, the Associated Press reported that the Dodgers will not file tampering charges against the Red Sox involving the circumstances surrounding the outfielder's signing . . . Arnie Beyeler, who managed the Lowell Spinners in 2000 and 2001, will return to the Sox organization as manager of the Double A Portland Sea Dogs. The Sox also announced that Chad Epperson will continue to manage the team's high Single A club, which moved to Lancaster of the California League.