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Milwaukee Brewer Trevor Hoffman isn’t available at this year’s trade deadline, but that didn’t stop Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein from asking after the closer he first met while working for the San Diego Padres, according to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.

Not remotely effective this season, Hoffman owns a 6.82 ERA over 33 innings and joins a nearly all-inclusive group of relievers that the Red Sox are pursuing in the final days leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline this Saturday.

Today, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo reviewed all the relievers the Red Sox have reportedly sought over the past month. The list includes Matt Capps, Scott Downs, Kyle Farnsworth, Mike Gonzalez, Sean Marshall, Will Ohman, Rafael Perez, Kerry Wood, Michael Wuertz, and former Red Sox David Aardsma and Craig Breslow.

True to his word, Epstein has been scouring rosters for available bullpen help. Despite injuries to outfielders, catchers, infielders and starters alike, the Red Sox might would be closer than seven games back in the American League East if they had an effective bullpen.

The 2010 Red Sox pen’s weaker components have blown 14 saves and allowed a Major League-worst 43 homers en route to a 4.42 ERA. This is frighteningly close to the Orioles’ 4.47 mark. Journeyman Scott Atchison (4.05 ERA), trade-candidate Ramon Ramirez (4.57 ERA), flame-thrower Manny Delcarmen (4.86 ERA), and southpaw Hideki Okajima (5.81 ERA) are the primary underperformers.

The Red Sox must make at least one move for a reliever before the deadline if they are to compete through August and into September. The next 48 hours could decide Boston’s 2010 fate.

If you’d like to kno w as soon as Peter’s Red Sox articles have posted, you can follow him on Twitter at BoSoxUpdate.

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Red Sox All-Star third baseman Adrian Beltre could fetch a “nice haul” on the trading block this week, according to MLBTradeRumors.com’s Tim Dierkes. While Dierkes cautions trade mongers that Boston wouldn’t “go there” unless they believed the 2010 team had “no chance,” he also suggests Beltre could be worth more than any other Red Sox were he made available.

The Red Sox are at a fascinating and unpredictable crossroads at the 2010 trade deadline.

As Dierkes quips, a deal sending Adrian Gonzalez to Boston was supposed to be the “non-stop” topic right now. Indeed, the Red Sox and Padres have swapped roles. Sitting atop the National League West, San Diego is shopping while third-place Boston is caught between a habitual buyer’s mentality and 2010’s reality.

Although Boston is far from throwing in the towel on 2010, the pressure is on to make a decision regarding Beltre.

If the Red Sox front office comes to believe 2010 isn’t Boston’s year, they would miss a major opportunity not trading Beltre, who is sure to decline a $10 million player option for 2011.

When the Red Sox signed Beltre during the offseason, it seemed to many that Theo Epstein overpaid for the Mariners’ Gold Glove third baseman. However, after a nearly career season in Boston, Beltre will be looking for a big raise at the end of 2010.

This season, the 31-year-old All Star is hitting .333 with 16 homers and a 925 OPS. Defensively, Beltre is continuing to dominate the hot corner and currently owns a 12.5 UZR/150.

The Red Sox could keep Beltre through the season’s end. Then, either pay up on a deal around four years and $60 million or let him sign elsewhere and collect their draft picks.

On the other hand, Beltre could net top talent over the next few days. Purely speculating, but Minnesota might make an excellent match, and the Red Sox might be able to pry away top catching prospect Wilson Ramos. Other pieces might be necessary, but such a deal wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.

If you’d like to kno w as soon as Peter’s Red Sox articles have posted, you can follow him on Twitter at BoSoxUpdate.

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Bereft of speedster Jacoby Ellsbury, the Boston Red Sox are now showing “interest” in Washington Nationals outfielder Josh Willingham, according to ESPN’s Jayson Stark.

Boston had apparently been close to a deal with the Kansas City Royals for David DeJesus last week before the versatile outfielder landed on the disabled list for the remainder of the season. Additionally, the Red Sox have been connected to trade rumors involving the Philadelphia Phillies’ Jayson Werth and the Florida Marlins’ Cody Ross, who is no longer on the market due to an injury to Chris Coghlan.

With Werth a projected Type-A free agent and a mere rental at a steep price, the Red Sox appear to be losing interest in him and are instead turning their attention to Willingham, who is having a career year in Washington.

According to Stark, the Nationals are now interested in dealing either Adam Dunn or Josh Willingham, but not both. While Dunn might fetch more on the open market, the Nationals appear to be asking too much for their home run leader. Willingham is, therefore, the more likely to be traded.

As noted, Willingham is enjoying a career year that should earn him a serious pay increase, whether through negotiation or arbitration, and that economic factor could influence the decision of the modest-spending Nationals. So far this season, Willingham has hit .273 and posted an .880 OPS on the back of 15 homers.

While the Red Sox are certainly “interested” in Willingham, his acquisition would be somewhat surprising for a Boston team predicated on defense. Willingham is a below-average defender and could end up costing more money than Boston would likely want to commit to such a player.

At the same time, Willingham will hit free agency at the end of the 2011 season, so the financial ramifications could be short-lived.

If you’d like to kno w as soon as Peter’s Red Sox articles have posted, you can follow him on Twitter at BoSoxUpdate.

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Teams have needs. The Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays in the AL East. The White Sox, Twins, and Tigers in the AL Central. The Rangers and Angels in the AL West. The Braves, Phillies, and Mets in the NL East. The Cardinals and Reds in the NL Central. The Padres, Giants, Dodgers, and Rockies in the NL West.

Teams have needs, but some are too protective of their best prospects to ship them for a deadline deal.

The MLB-controlled Rangers weren’t. They dealt Justin Smoak for Cliff Lee.

The Angels tip-toed around the issue somewhat by sending Joe Saunders, Patrick Corbin, Rafael Rodriguez, and Tyler Skaggs to Arizona to acquire Dan Haren. What the Angels didn’t do was trade any of their prospects listed by Baseball America as some of the Top 100 in the nation: C Hank Conger, OF Mike Trout, or OF Peter Bourjos.

Among the remaining teams contending for a divisional title or a wild-card berth, many have similar prospects they are highly hesitant to deal.

Some are still pure prospects, and some have already cracked the majors for a prolonged cup of coffee, but they are all highly touted by their current ownership and highly coveted by the competition.

Here are some of the top prospects around who might be so protected by their current teams they’ll block a major deadline deal.

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Fresh off sending Conor Jackson to the Oakland Athletics and Dan Haren to the Los Angeles Angels, the Arizona Diamondbacks are shopping virtually every piece on their Major League roster, including catcher Chris Snyder, who has been on the Boston Red Sox’ radar for some time, according to MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert and MLBTradeRumors’ Ben Nicholson-Smith.

Snyder joins the Colorado Rockies’ Chris Iannetta, the Toronto Blue Jays’ John Buck, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Russell Martin, and the New York Mets’ Rod Barajas as a target of Boston’s catching-hungry front office.

While Buck provides the most current production, Iannetta the most upside, Barajas the most experience, and Martin the most name recognition, Snyder might be the most available option to help stabilize an injury-plagued Red Sox catching crew.

Arizona seems intent on dumping its 29-year-old backstop, whose .231 average and  sub-par defense hardly seem worth the more than $8 million remaining on his three-year contract.

Given Theo Epstein’s distaste for trading top-tier prospects, Snyder’s low price tag could easily land him at Fenway before the week is out.

If you’d like to kno w as soon as Peter’s Red Sox articles have posted, you can follow him on Twitter at BoSoxUpdate.

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The Boston Red Sox tendered a trade offer to the New York Mets that would have sent Boston reliever Ramon Ramirez to the Big Apple in exchange for veteran catcher Rod Barajas. The deal, however, was at least temporarily tabled when Barajas landed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left oblique, according to FOX’s Ken Rosenthal and WEEI’s Alex Speier.

While the deal may not be entirely dead, the Red Sox aren’t likely to pursue another injured catcher with Jason Varitek nursing a broken foot and Victor Martinez having just returned from the disabled list.

As Ben Nicholson-Smith of MLB Trade Rumors points out, the Red Sox are clearly seeking Major League catching depth beyond the services of Kevin Cash and Dusty Brown, and the attempt to deal Ramirez certainly emphasizes Boston’s lack of confidence in the formerly dominant righty.

Perhaps all’s well that ends well, since this deal would certainly represent no more than a swap of under-performing talent.

Barajas has hit just .228 with 12 homeruns for New York this year, and Ramirez has seemed a shadow of his old self posting a 4.69 ERA in his second year with Boston.

If you’d like to know as soon as Peter’s Red Sox articles have posted, you can follow him on Twitter at BoSoxUpdate.

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Amid intensifying trade negotiations for Florida Marlin Jorge Cantu, the Texas Rangers have reportedly lost interest in Boston third baseman Mike Lowell, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.

Texas’ fluctuating interest in Boston’s oft-injured backup third baseman has been well documented, and this writer most recently covered it in another article primarily dealing with Detroit’s reported interest in Lowell.

Poised to acquire the far younger and more productive Cantu, the Rangers have understandably cooled on acquiring the waning Lowell.

Edes also reports that the Detroit Tigers, the most recent front-runners for Lowell’s dubious services, are unlikely to make a move for the 36-year-old.

Although Detroit has hemorrhaged hitters in recent days, losing outfielder Magglio Ordonez and infielders Brandon Inge and Carlos Guillen, they seem less than interested in taking on any portion of the roughly $4.2 million remaining on Lowell’s contract.

Apparently Tigers scouting director David Chadd personally checked in on Lowell over the weekend during his rehab assignment with the Pawtucket Red Sox, but the former Red Sox scout’s reports haven’t pushed Detroit into negotiations for Lowell.

Indeed, according to Edes’ Major League source, the Tigers will not be pursuing Lowell en route to the 2010 trade deadline. That said, Lowell should easily clear waivers in August, and the Sox should enjoy another chance to move him beyond July 31st.

If you’d like to know as soon as Peter’s Red Sox articles have posted, you can follow him on Twitter at BoSoxUpdate.

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Due to the financial disarray created by the McCourt divorce, Russell Martin may be growing too expensive for the Los Angeles Dodgers to retain beyond this season, and the Boston Red Sox could try to “make a run” at the All-Star catcher, according to NESN analyst Peter Gammons.

While the Dodgers have indicated they are willing to spend at this year’s trade deadline, their sincerity and ability must be questioned due to the financial gridlock caused by ownership’s protracted divorce proceedings.

Arbitration-eligible again at the conclusion of the 2010 campaign, Martin looks to receive a significant raise should he wish to take his talents before an arbitration panel. If the Dodgers wish to avoid that uncomfortable scenario, they will need to make a substantial offer of their own in advance of that. Gammons and others question whether they have the resources to do so.

Connecting the dots between Martin’s potential availability and the Red Sox’ need for a strong offensive and defensive presence behind the plate, Gammons has suggested Boston as a likely fit for Martin, perhaps before the trade deadline, perhaps in the offseason.

With Victor Martinez set to hit the market as a Type-A free agent, the Red Sox could very well wish to offer him arbitration, collect their compensation picks for a very strong 2011 draft class, and make a deal for Martin.

Los Angeles is currently 5.5 games back in the National League West, and firmly in third place in both the divisional and wild card races.

Martin is hitting a career worst .246 with an anemic .678 OPS. At the same time, the Red Sox are really in need of a solid defensive presence behind the plate, and the Gold Glover has thrown out 25 of 62 would-be base stealers this season. For his career, Martin has thrown out 32 percent, so he seems to be improving in that category.

Acquiring Martin doesn’t automatically mean the Red Sox would part with Martinez, who has produced excellent offensive numbers in Boston, but it would certainly mean that he’d be shifted to another role with the team, possibly playing first to Kevin Youkilis’s third.

If you’d like to know as soon as Peter’s Red Sox articles have posted, you can follow him on Twitter at BoSoxUpdate.

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The Detroit Tigers are looking to acquire Boston backup third baseman Mike Lowell to temporarily replace the injured Brandon Inge, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.

Inge had been hitting .263 with a .755 OPS and was wielding a decent glove before landing on the disabled list for six weeks with a broken hand.

While Lowell is still owed a little less than $5 million this year and has spent most of the season languishing on the DL, he represents one of the most affordable short-term fixes at the hot corner currently on the market.

Lowell is just now looking to come off the disabled list and is scheduled to make a rehab start for Triple-A Pawtucket on Saturday, also according to Knobler. In 91 plate appearances at the Major League level this year, Lowell has hit .213 with 2 homers and a .658 OPS.

Since before Spring Training, it has been well known that the Red Sox would be willing to eat most of Lowell’s salary in exchange for an ever diminishing level of prospective talent.

The last trade with which Lowell was publicly affiliated would have sent the 36-year-old former World Series MVP to Texas for catcher Max Ramirez. That deal fell through over Lowell’s health. Although it seemed to resurface recently, there seems to be no pressing need in Texas for a player of Lowell’s value.

If you’d like to know as soon as Peter’s Red Sox articles have posted, you can follow him on Twitter at BoSoxUpdate.

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Even as former Red Sox pitcher Craig Breslow was fanning his third batter in two innings of work against his former team this week, the Boston front office was kicking the tires on bringing the Oakland Athletics reliever back to Beantown.

Breslow last pitched for the Red Sox during the injury-plagued 2006 campaign.

That year, Breslow posted a 3.75 ERA over 12 innings of work. But two years later, he was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Indians.

Subsequently claimed by the Minnesota Twins and then the Athletics, Breslow found in Oakland something he lacked his first time around in Boston—innings.

Allowed a regular bullpen spot, Breslow has been nothing if not effective. This year, Breslow has posted a 3.02 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP across 44.2 innings.

The southpaw could contribute significantly down the stretch on a Boston club currently sporting one of the worst bullpens in the majors.

Particularly attractive when it comes to Breslow are his second-half numbers.

Breslow’s career August ERA is 2.56 and that number sinks to 1.83 in September and October.

The Sox will have competition if they decide to pursue Breslow. The New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers are also rumored to be interested, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports .

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