Bye, bye Mirabelli: Red Sox deal Wake's mate

The Red Sox traded their back up catcher, and full time Tim Wakefield catcher, Doug Mirabelli Wednesday to San Diego for all-star 2nd baseman Mark Loretta. The 34-year-old Loretta is a .301 hitter with 63 home runs and 466 RBI in 11 major league seasons with the Brewers, Astros and Padres. He had his best season in 2004, when he batted .335 with 47 doubles, 16 homers, 76 RBI and 108 runs scored, all career bests, and good enough to earn him a spot on the NL All-Star team. Last season, limited to 105 games, he hit .280 with three homers and 38 RBI for San Diego, when he had surgery to repair a strained ligament in his left thumb.

Mirabelli backed up Gold Glove-winner Jason Varitek for the Red Sox, getting just 136 at-bats in 50 games and batting .228. He is a career .241 hitter with 47 homers and 165 RBI in 445 career games for Boston, Texas and San Francisco. The Padres reportedly plan to make Mirabelli a starter. He backed up former AL MVP Ivan Rodriguez in Texas. UB has said for years that Doug was the best backup catcher in baseball, and used to love watching him bat with no gloves or pads. It seemed like every time he got a start he made a big play by throwing someone out (UB says he has a better arm than 'Tek) or hitting a home run.

The Red Sox continue to shop Manny Ramirez and pitcher David Wells, and negotiate with free agent Johnny Damon. They have also discussed trading Theo's Rent-a-wreck, who was their prize free agent just a year ago.