Team is interested in Devil Rays' Wigginton

CLEVELAND -- The Red Sox are among the teams interested in acquiring Tampa Bay Devil Rays infielder Ty Wigginton, according to a major league source, though a source familiar with the Sox said a trade was not close as of yesterday afternoon.

Wigginton, a righthanded batter, is hitting .274 with 15 home runs, 48 RBIs, and a .326 on-base percentage this season.

Wigginton is 29 years old and has played 36 games at second base this season, 32 at third, 17 at first, and 15 as the designated hitter.

Major league sources also have confirmed the Sox have interest in Texas first baseman Mark Teixeira; White Sox right fielder Jermaine Dye; Oakland outfielder Bobby Kielty, who was recently designated for assignment; and Dodgers third base prospect Andy LaRoche, who has been hot in Triple A Las Vegas, a team the Red Sox' Allard Baird has been scouting.

There is no danger of Manny Delcarmen being named the Red Sox' closer. Not with the overpowering Jonathan Papelbon on the roster. But in terms of pure stuff, according to catcher Doug Mirabelli, Delcarmen rates a tick higher on the scale.

"If you rate the guys' stuff on our team, [Josh ] Beckett's got the best stuff," said Mirabelli. "Then you've got Manny. Then Papelbon."

Delcarmen has an innate ability to throw a baseball that, Mirabelli said, is surpassed on the Red Sox only by last night's starter.

"Who's got better stuff?" Mirabelli said. "It's the guy that's got better numbers, I guess is how that works. If you were to scout both of them, the makeup for Papelbon would be higher than, say, a Manny. But as far as pure stuff, they would definitely be similar. Papelbon's body type, he's tall and strong. But in my opinion, Manny's fastball comes out of his hand cleaner."

It's not news to Delcarmen, who has been hearing similar compliments for some time.

"They've been telling me that for the last two years, saying that my stuff is better than it really is," Delcarmen said with a smile. "Compared to Papelbon, I mean, he's our closer. I think his stuff is just unbelievable. A couple guys said me, him, we're similar with our fastballs. He just has that mound presence. But it feels good to hear it from Dougie."

Joel Piñeiro accepted an optional assignment to Pawtucket after clearing waivers this week, and started the PawSox' 12-2 loss in Toledo last night, throwing three hitless innings with a walk and a strikeout. Piñeiro was designated for assignment Monday. It's unusual for a pitcher with his major league service time to make that decision rather than opt to become a free agent. The Sox did make an effort to trade the righthander. "He's trying to get starter's innings," manager Terry Francona said, before adding that he thought Piñeiro wanted to go back to starting . . . Francona was positive in his assessment of the job Dave Magadan has done after replacing last year's hitting coach, Ron Jackson. After deep slumps, Julio Lugo and Coco Crisp have hit well lately. J.D. Drew appears potentially on the cusp. But Manny Ramírez and David Ortiz haven't matched their production of recent years. "He always has time for every hitter," Francona said of Magadan. "I know he's very knowledgeable. I hear it when he talks, he breaks it down and makes it kind of easy to understand, which I appreciate and I think most hitters do. All things we've asked him to do, he does. We'd love everybody to be hitting .300 with 30 home runs, but that I don't think is an indicator that he's not doing his job."

With Ortiz's four-game injury timeout coinciding with the Sox' five-game winning streak, the designated hitter took quite a bit of needling from his teammates. But Francona, certainly, was happy to have Ortiz back in the lineup. The Sox, however, managed just four hits, one by Ortiz, in losing, 1-0, to the Indians . . . Mike Lowell and Lugo were out of the starting lineup. Francona had given both players the choice of resting last night or tomorrow in Tampa. Lugo pinch ran for Alex Cora in the eighth and was caught stealing second to end the inning . . . Brendan Donnelly reached 90 feet in his throwing program. "Not real aggressive, trying not to let it get overly aggressive, but he's throwing," Francona said . . . The manager said the goal for Curt Schilling's outing today for Pawtucket in Toledo is to get him up and down as many times as possible, in throwing about 65 pitches. The team also will be looking at how he rebounds from the performance . . . The loss ended Boston's five-game winning streak, tied for its longest of the season. It also marked just the second time the Sox were shut out this season. The Sox' last 1-0 loss was Sept. 11, 2005, at Yankee Stadium . . . The complete game was Beckett's first in the American League . . . Indians starter Fausto Carmona has not allowed a run in his last 18 innings . . . The Indians' other 1-0 win this season also featured a home run by Franklin Gutierrez . . . "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out" was the favored game in the visitors' clubhouse. Wily Mo Peña took one look at the screen and pointed out a resemblance between himself and the computerized Tyson.