With the Sox still in search of a power right-handed setup man to pair with the "Oka-Doke" man in the bullpen, the Sox are reportedly kicking the tires on Eric Gagne -- a guy they pursued through free agency at the MLB Winter Meetings in Orlando last December.

The Texas Rangers ended up giving Gagne more money than the Sox were willing to pony up for an oft-injured reliever, but a short-term rental could be a possibily depending on what the Rangers' demands are.

Another side benefit of Gagne's availability as a rental is his likely status as a Type A free agent at the season's end, which means that if the Sox traded for Gagne, offered him salary arbitration and then let him walk at the end of the season they would receive a pair of high draft picks as compensation -- something that always perks up the Boston front office toward a potential target. 

The jury is still out if Gagne qualifies as a Type A free agent given the fact that he only pitched 15 innings over the last two seasons, but it's an intriguing possibility given Boston's needs and the way Gagne has pitched when healthy this season.

Boston is, according to the well-connected and blogtastic Rob Bradford, not on a list of teams that Gagne would like to be traded to (a provision agreed upon by agent Scott Boras the Rangers when they signed off on Gagne's free agent contract this winter), but that doesn't preclude a trade to Boston -- as it isn't an iron-clad no-trade clause.

Gagne has also voiced his preference to go to a team where he would be the closer, but the New York Yankees are reportedly on his wish list "of teams to be traded to" and I haven't heard anything about Mariano Rivera stepping aside for Gagne...so there seems to be a lot of moving parts here.

This from Texas mlb.com reporter T.R. Sullivan :


General manager Jon Daniels remains busy as clubs looking to upgrade their bullpen continue to call and ask about Eric Gagne and Akinori Otsuka.

Daniels said the Rangers are in a "listening mode" right now, and are trying to weigh their needs for the future against disrupting the momentum that they've built lately. The Rangers have won eight of their last 11 games going into Tuesday's game with the Detroit Tigers.

"I like the way we're playing lately," Daniels said before Tuesday's game. "I'm not going to do anything just for the sake of doing anything. It has to make sense.

"We're trying to keep a perspective on where we are. We've dug ourselves a pretty big hole, but I don't want to turn away from the positives we have going. We're in a listening mode."

According to Major League officials, the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have shown the most interest in Gagne, while the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers have shown more interest in Otsuka. The Cleveland Indians have shown interest in both.

Daniels declined to discuss specifics but acknowledged there is a lot of interest in the Rangers bullpen.

"It's not surprising given the state of the game with injuries and attrition," Daniels said. "Teams could use bullpen help and ours has performed at a high level. It's a good situation, but we're not actively looking to do anything."

The Rangers appear less motivated to move Otsuka because he still has two more years before he can become a free agent and would likely demand more in return. Gagne can be a free agent after this season, but the Rangers also anticipate he will be a Type A free agent. That means they could offer him arbitration and get two draft picks as compensation if he goes elsewhere.