The Red Sox have acquired catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia from the Rangers for two minor leaguers, a player to be named and cash, according to an Associated Press report. In other moves, the Red Sox sent reliever Ramon Ramirez to the Giants for pitching prospect Daniel Turpen.

The Red Sox have inquired about Trevor Hoffman. Hoffman has the Red Sox on his no trade list, one of five teams. Milwaukee is not currently inclined to trade Hoffman.

The Yankees and Red Sox are neck and neck in the race to land reliever Scott Downs in a trade with the Blue Jays. "It's the Yankees and Red Sox," said a source with knowledge of Toronto's plans. "And he is clearly the best reliever out there." New York only has Boone Logan as a lefty reliever with Damaso Marte on the disabled list. Fellow lefty Will Ohman is also available, but one talent evaluator said, "It's not even close between Downs and Ohman, Downs is far better."

Interest in Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell continues to grow as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches. The Tigers are interested in Lowell, according to a source. Detroit placed third baseman Brandon Inge on the disabled list with a fractured left hand on July 20. "Tigers are interested," the source said. "Not sure how serious the interest since Inge's injury is not as severe as they thought."

Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester took a no-hitter into the sixth inning on Saturday night, but ended up losing to the Mariners. Seattle scored two runs in the sixth inning and another three in the eighth as they topped Boston 5-1 at Safeco Field. "I felt like I had good stuff but you can never predict that stuff," Lester said. "I hung a curve ball to a guy that I shouldn't have. He made a good swing at it [and] hit it out."

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia doesn't think he needs to make a trip to the minor leagues once he's deemed healthy. "I don't know. I'll talk to Theo [Epstein] and Tito [Terry Francona], everybody, but it depends how we're doing as a team," Pedroia said. "We're trying to get everybody back as fast as possible and I think the Red Sox need us more than the PawSox do. Hopefully when I'm healed, I'll just go out there and play." Pedroia is dealing with a fractured left foot. He has been taking ground balls and hitting in the cage without the removable walking cast he's required to wear for at least another week. "It's getting tough because I'm walking better. I feel normal walking. I just can't push it right now until it's really healed. I've just got to listen to what [the doctors] say and hope we win. That's it."

If the Marlins struggle this weekend, outfielder Cody Ross could be traded very soon. The Red Sox, Dodgers, Yankees and Phillies are interested in Ross, according to a source close to Florida.

The Red Sox are sending pitcher Tim Wakefield to the bullpen to make room for Josh Beckett, who will return from the disabled list on Friday. "When guys don't like it, or don't understand it, we try to explain it to them," said manager Terry Francona. "It's no different with Wake than it is with anybody else. We've known Wake a long time and we know what he's accomplished, but regardless of who you are, we try to have the same attitude. We put the team first." Wakefield tossed a bullpen session Thursday and when he was done throwing he did not want to talk about the move even though he knew it was coming.

The return of infielder Jed Lowrie to the Red Sox will leave even less time for veteran third baseman Mike Lowell. Lowrie is a utility infielder and provides flexibility for Boston as a switch hitter. Lowell is hitting .231 with two home runs in 80 at-bats this year.

Ralph Houk, who managed both the Yankees and Red Sox during his career, died Wednesday at age 90. Houk guided New York to two World Series titles during his 20 years as their manager. He also managed the Tigers.