BOSTON (AP)—The Boston Red Sox have hired Bob McClure as pitching coach
and moved Tim Bogar to bench coach.

The Red Sox said Friday Alex Ochoa will be first base coach on manager Bobby
Valentine’s staff and Jerry Royster will be the third base coach. Bogar and
Ochoa both played under Valentine with the New York Mets.

Bogar is in his fourth year with the Red Sox, spending the last two as the
third base coach.

McClure recently joined the Red Sox organization as a special assignment
scout and instructor. He spent the previous six seasons as the pitching coach
for the Kansas City Royals.

Ochoa was the hitting coach for Boston’s Class-A affiliate in Salem of the
Carolina League.

Royster was most recently the manager of the Lotte Giants of the Korea
Baseball Organization from 2008-10.

BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox officially announced the rest of manager Bobby Valentine’s staff on Friday, naming Bob McClure the pitching coach, Jerry Royster third-base coach and Alex Ochoa the first-base coach.

Tim Bogar has been named Valentine’s bench coach, while hitting coach Dave Magadan and bullpen coach Gary Tuck also return for 2012.

All had been previously reported except Ochoa. The 39-year-old has been with the Red Sox organization since 2009 and most recently was the hitting coach for Class A Salem. He served as a staff assistant for the Red Sox in 2009.

In 2010, he served as a special assistant in the baseball operations department. Ochoa played eight years in the majors, including the 1996 and 1997 seasons for Valentine in New York with the Mets.

Bogar, 45, enters his fourth year with the Red Sox. He spent the past two seasons as Boston’s third-base coach, and the 2009 season as the first-base coach. He also played for Valentine with the Mets in 1996.

McClure, 59, recently joined the Red Sox organization as a special assignment scout/instructor. He spent the past six seasons as the pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals.

Prior to joining the Royals, he served as a minor league pitching coach in the Colorado Rockies system for seven seasons. He began his coaching career with the Florida Marlins in 1994 as a coach on the major league staff and also served as a scout with the Marlins in 1996.

McClure played 19 seasons in the big leagues with the Royals, Brewers, Expos, Mets, Angels, Cardinals and Marlins, posting a 68-57 record with 52 saves and a 3.81 ERA in 698 career games (73 starts).

Royster, 59, has been involved in professional baseball for more than 40 years. He most recently managed the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization from 2008 to 2010, becoming the league’s first foreign manager.

Joe McDonald covers the Red Sox for ESPNBoston.com.

Follow Joe McDonald on Twitter: @espnJoeyMac

APNewsBreak: Yankees hit with $13.9M luxury tax

By RONALD BLUM

AP Sports Writer

(AP) — The New York Yankees were hit with a $13.9 million luxury tax bill Thursday, their lowest since 2003.

The fee, assessed by Major League Baseball under its labor contract, is down from $18 million last year and $25.7 million in 2009, when the Yankees won the World Series.

Boston, which missed the playoffs for the second straight season, is the only other team that will have to pay a tax. The Red Sox received a bill for $3.4 million, up from last year’s $1.5 million.

Season-ending payroll information and the tax was sent to teams and obtained by The Associated Press.

According to the collective bargaining agreement, checks to pay the tax must be sent to the commissioner’s office by Jan. 31.

New York has paid the tax in all nine years since it began, $206 million of the $227 million raised under the penalty for high payrolls. The only other teams to pay have been the Red Sox (a total of $18.8 million), Detroit ($1.3 million) and the Los Angeles Angels ($927,000).

The Yankees pay at a 40 percent rate on the amount of their payroll over $178 million, a figure that includes the average annual values of contracts plus benefits. Boston, which exceeded the threshold for the second straight year, pays at a 30 percent rate. For purposes of the tax, New York’s final payroll was $212.7 million and Boston’s was $189.4 million.

Under the new labor contract, the Yankees’ rate would increase to 42.5 percent next year and 50 percent in 2013 if they continue to exceed the threshold, and Boston’s rate would go up to 40 percent next season.

But if in any year a team goes under the threshold, its rate decreases to 17.5 percent the next time it pays the tax.

As an added incentive for the high-spenders to decrease payroll, if they get under the threshold they will become eligible to get back some of the money they contribute in revenue sharing. The tax threshold stays at $178 million through 2013, then goes to $189 million in each of the following three years.

New York’s payroll under the conventional method of calculation – salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses – increased from $215 million to $216 million, still below its high of $222.5 million in 2008.

Boston remained second and finished at $174 million, an increase of $3 million. Philadelphia stayed third at $165 million, a rise of nearly $20 million.

Even before adding Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, the Angels were fourth at $143 million, followed by the financially troubled New York Mets at $142 million, an increase of $14 million and a figure that likely will drop by $30 million or more next season. They were followed by the Chicago teams, who both missed the playoffs, with the Cubs at $141 million and the White Sox at $126 million.

World Series champion St. Louis was 11th at $113 million, and AL champion Texas was 13th at $104 million. Milwaukee (16th at $93 million), Arizona (24th at $66 million) and Tampa Bay (29th at $45 million) made the playoffs from the bottom half of payrolls, while the 2010 champion San Francisco Giants ($125 million) and Minnesota ($115 million) were among the high-spending teams to miss the postseason.

The Marlins, who have added free agents Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell as they prepare to open their new ballpark, were 25th at $62 million. The Los Angeles Dodgers kept their payroll steady at $110 million as owners Frank and Jamie McCourt argued in divorce proceedings that helped cause the team to file for bankruptcy. The Dodgers’ payroll had been $132 million in 2009.

Kansas City dropped from $77 million to last at $45 million. Houston, sold during the season, fell to $81 million from $90 million last year and $108 million in 2009.

Overall payroll was $43,000 shy of the $3 billion mark, up from $2.91 billion last year.

Payroll figures are for 40-man rosters and include salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses, earned incentive bonuses, non-cash compensation, buyouts of unexercised options and cash transactions, such as money included in trades. In some cases, parts of salaries that are deferred are discounted to reflect present-day values.

The commissioner’s office computed the average salary at a record $3,039,161, up 3.6 percent from last year’s $2,932,162. The players’ association, which uses a slightly different method, pegged the average at $3,095,183 earlier this month, up 2.7 percent from $3,014,572.

Updated December 23, 2011

Read More: Gio Gonzalez (P – OAK), Tom Milone (P – WAS), Derek Norris (C – WAS), Brad Peacock (P – WAS), Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals

Well, so much for that rumor. Gio Gonzalez, a left handed starting pitcher, has reportedly been traded from the Oakland Athletics to the Washington Nationals for a group of prospects, according to ESPN’s Keith Law.

The Boston Red Sox were reported to be one of two potential destinations for the A’s southpaw on Thursday afternoon, with the other being the Nationals. In exchange for Gonzalez, the Athletics will receive prospects Brad Peacock, Derek Norris, A.J. Cole and Tom Milone.

Gonzalez was drafted by the Chicago White Sox with the No. 38 overall pick in the 2004 MLB Amateur Draft, but he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2005 and later dealt again back to the White Sox before begin sent to Oakland.

In his rookie season in 2008, Gonzalez went 1-4 with a 7.68 ERA in 10 games. Gonzalez blossomed into a star in 2010, posting a 15-9 record with a 3.23 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 33 starts. Last season, Gonzalez went 16-12 with a 3.12 ERA and 197 strikeouts in 32 starts.

For more Boston Red Sox coverage, visit our team page and blog, Over the Monster

Following the departure of Jonathan Papelbon to the Philadelphia Phillies, one of the most glaring holes the Boston Red Sox face this offseason is at closer.

While there are options available, free-agent success when dealing with closers is never a sure thing. Since the 2003 season, the Red Sox have had much success at the position but it wasn’t all great (remember the failed closer-by-committee project?). Since 2006, the Red Sox had one of the game’s best closers in Papelbon.

Any success at the closer position would be tough to duplicate when replacing via free agency but Papelbon averaged 37 saves with a 1.02 WHIP and 2.33 ERA during his time as Boston’s ninth-inning man. Love him or hate him, Papelbon was key to the team’s success and he’ll be tough to replace.

So, what are the options?

The trade to acquire Houston Astros closer Mark Melanson seemed to put an end to the closer discussion once and for all but talks have continued with Cincinnati’s Francisco Cordero, leaving, as the Red Sox Monster writes, more questions than answers.

The first and most-discussed option is Daniel Bard. Much has been discussed about Bard during the offseason. He has been considered a potential reliever-turned-starter as the team’s starting rotation needs became more apparent following the epic September collapse. He has also been considered for quite some time the heir apparent to Papelbon at the closer role.

On the surface, it makes so much sense. Bard has proven himself reliable in tough, late-game situations. He has a heavy, heavy fastball that routinely reaches triple digits during his limited one-inning appearances. That fastball has helped him develop one of the game’s nastiest sliders. In a word, Bard’s perfect for the closer role.

Questions remain, however, if and when the Red Sox name Bard their next closer. Most importantly, his move to closer would create a hole in the ever-important eighth-inning role. Alfredo Aceves, who enjoyed much success in the Red Sox bullpen last season would be a likely candidate to jump into that spot but will Aceves-to-Bard be as effective as Bard-to-Papelbon?

A second internal — and highly unlikely option — would be Bobby Jenks. The former Chicago White Sox closer was brought in prior to the 2011 season in a low-risk deal. In a perfect world, he would have performed well enough last season to ease the pain of letting Papelbon walk. Injuries and inconsistency led to Jenks throwing only 15 2/3 innings last season. Back surgery this month all but ensured that Jenks will not be closing for the Red Sox in 2012.

If they’re not sold on Melancon, the Red Sox do have options beyond Bard and Jenks, and they’re rather enticing.

Originally considered dead, the Red Sox have reportedly resumed talks with the agent for Ryan Madson, who was out of a job when the Phillies signed Papelbon. Madson recorded 32 saves with a 0.92 WHIP and 2.08 ERA last season. Madson’s asking price, however, has been rumored to be above what the Red Sox would ideally pay.

Most recently, the Red Sox have been linked to closer Francisco Cordero. The Red Sox are reportedly one of four clubs bidding for the righhander who saved 36 games for the Cincinnati Reds last season. Like Madson, Cordero’s asking price may be too much for the Red Sox. He just completed a four-year $45 million deal.

A third option and one that the Red Sox could have more stock in considering the value is Oakland Athletics closer Andrew Bailey.The 2009 American League Rookie of the Year recorded 24 saves with a 1.10 WHIP and 3.24 ERA last season. Since becoming the A’s regular starter, Bailey has averaged 25 saves, a 0.95 WHIP and 2.07 ERA. The only question surrounding Bailey is what it would take to acquire him via trade from Oakland.