3 pitchers claimed in the Rule 5 draft

Ex-Angel Gonzalez put on 40-man roster

LAS VEGAS - In four days of talking and dealing at the winter meetings, the Red Sox had just one move to announce: the selection of three righthanded pitchers in the Rule 5 draft yesterday.

Although it wasn't the dynamic signing Sox fans - or the front office - sought, it had to suffice.

The main target was reliever Miguel Gonzalez, whom the Sox selected in the major league portion of the draft from the Angels' Triple A roster. The Sox also took Jason Rice, 22, from the White Sox, and Miguel Marquez, 21, from the Mariners, both of whom were on Double A rosters.

Gonzalez, 24, missed the 2008 season because of a knee injury. He could provide depth in the bullpen, and he has to remain on the Sox roster all season or the Sox have to offer him back to the Angels. He was added to the 40-man roster, which completes the roster, at least for the moment.

"We had three really good scouts who saw him [in the Mexican Winter League] and liked him quite a bit," general manager Theo Epstein said. "He was pitching really well in Mexico, probably better than he had before he went down with the knee injury. He's a guy who throws three pitches for strikes, he really competes, he's athletic.

"It's going to be tough to stick with a competitive club, but I think it's the right thing to do to take him and we'll see what we have in spring training."

Epstein said Gonzalez throws a fastball 92 miles per hour, and called him a "pitchability guy with some swing-and-miss when he's pitching out of the pen." He went 3-1 with a 0.99 ERA in 10 appearances (six starts) in the Mexican Winter League, and 8-4 with one save and a 3.38 ERA in 30 games (19 starts) for Double A Arkansas in the Texas League in 2007.

The Sox figure to have a crowd in the bullpen in spring training, with pitchers Wes Littleton and Gonzalez battling for spots along with established bullpen arms Jonathan Papelbon, Manny Delcarmen, and Ramon Ramírez.

"I think first and foremost we'd like to keep [our bullpen depth]," Epstein said. "But I think when you do have options in the pen, oftentimes you end up getting hit on by other teams that are looking to fill out their pen. We'll certainly listen. We have needs as well, so we'll listen."

Running gag

The Red Sox were surprised to learn that lefthanded reliever Hideki Okajima will be running in the Honolulu Marathon Sunday. One team official said the Sox were not pleased and would have discouraged him had the team been apprised of his decision. Epstein did not return an e-mail regarding Okajima yesterday. The marathon generally draws more than 60 percent of its runners from Japan, and Okajima will be one of more than 14,000 competitors from the country out of 23,000 entrants.

Done deal

The Sox are expected to nontender catcher Kevin Cash today, which means he will not be offered a contract for 2009 and will become a free agent. Boston can re-sign him, but would avoid having to go to arbitration by not tendering him a contract by today's deadline. He is the only player expected to be nontendered by the Sox . . . The Sox finalized the player to be named later in the Littleton deal with the Rangers. Pitcher Beau Vaughan, who was eligible for the Rule 5 draft, was sent to Texas to complete the deal. Littleton, acquired Nov. 28, is a righthanded reliever. He'll be in the major league mix in spring training, as he is out of options and cannot be sent to the minors. Littleton, 26, has gone 5-3 with three saves, a 3.69 ERA, and 55 strikeouts in 102 1/3 innings in 80 relief appearances with Texas. He spent most of last season with Triple A Oklahoma. Vaughan spent parts of last season with Portland and Pawtucket, going 3-2 with a 2.33 ERA in 46 games (39 in Double A).