01:00 AM EST on Friday, January 13, 2006

BY STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Jed Hoyer, co-general manager of the Red Sox, was on hand for yesterday's press gathering before the annual Boston Baseball Writers Association dinner.

There was no hard news for him to announce -- Hoyer wouldn't even talk about the reported acquisition of setup man Julian Tavarez.

Several items on the Sox' agenda, meanwhile, remained of the status-quo variety, notably trade requests by Manny Ramirez and David Wells, as well as the holes at shortstop and in center field.

Tavarez, a right-hander, reportedly signed a two-year deal worth $6.7 million, including a $500,000 signing bonus. It also has a club option for 2008 at $3.85 million, though that option could vest if he appears in a stipulated number of games.

The holdup in making the announcement official is likely that Tavarez hadn't yet taken and passed a physical.

Hoyer did say that both Ramirez and Wells have appreciated the fact that the Red Sox have honored their respective trade requests, even though no team has offered the value Boston would consider necessary to move either player.

In the meantime, Hoyer complimented Alex Cora for being an "incredibly smart player" who could begin the year at shortstop while prospect Dustin Pedroia hones his skills in Pawtucket.

As for center field, the most prominent names mentioned as a replacement for Johnny Damon are Seattle's Jeremy Reed and Cleveland's Coco Crisp. Hoyer would not confirm or deny anything, saying of the team's talks, "We've got some options. We're making a lot of phone calls. We have a list of guys we're going after. We're going after them hard. We're very confident we'll have a very good center fielder in 2006."

Hoyer also said the team has gotten good reports on rehabbing pitchers Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke.

"(Schilling's) ready for spring training. He feels good and we think he'll definitely bounce back," said Hoyer. "Keith will be ready to go. He had a down year but we expect him to bounce back."

The nature of the game

Tim Wakefield received the team's pitcher of the year award from the media.

Wakefield has been with the Sox since 1995. He said he was honored to win the award.

If he's going to repeat next year, he'll have to do it with a different catcher. Doug Mirabelli, Wakefield's personal catcher the last three seasons, was part of the trade to San Diego that brought second baseman Mark Loretta to Boston.

"I'm disappointed in a selfish way for myself, but I'm happy for Doug. He's going to get the chance to play every day in San Diego," said Wakefield.

Wakefield said he would miss some of his former Sox teammates who have left the fold, but he understood how it could happen.

"I've been here through five managers and three general managers," said Wakefield. "It's all part of the baseball business."

skrasner@projo.com / (401) 277-7340