One of Theo Epstein's first actions after assuming the Boston general managership was to claim Ryan Rupe off waivers from Tampa Bay. I was appalled when the Devil Rays released Rupe earlier this month. Although the 27-year-old has suffered from hit problems, he's been dominant and demonstrated solid control skills.

Last season Rupe was bothered by knee problems for much of the year, so the fact that Tampa still felt he'd command over a million dollars in arbitration should have indicated to them that they might be able to at least acquire something in exchange for Rupe in trade. Despite their stated intentions to use Rupe in relief, I expect him to break camp in the Red Sox rotation in place of John Burkett, who Boston would like to move to the pen if not to another club. They know Rupe's a capable starter, but the Red Sox also want to remain open to spending money on another starter this off-season, so for the moment they're projecting him for bullpen duty.

The Red Sox were quite active in signing players to minor league deals while Mike Port was still acting as interim GM. Several of the more intriguing minor league free agents are found on the list which includes, IF-R Nelson Castro, CR/C-R Chris Coste, 3B-S Donny Leon, SS-S James Lofton, C-L Jeff Smith, 1B-L Larry Sutton, OF-1B Julio Zuleta RHP Tom Davey, RHP Paul Stewart, LHP Kevin Tolar, and RHP Steve Woodard.

Nelson Castro has shown good speed and promising power since moving full time from pitcher to position player after the 1995 season. However, he's still struggling with his plate discipline, which limits his offensive upside, though the 26-year-old does have considerable position flexibility.

Chris Coste's average wasn't fully supported by his plate discipline at AAA Buffalo last season, but his strike zone judgment did show improvement. The 29-year-old has moderate power upside and might be an interesting reserve to have on the roster given his positional qualifications.

Donny Leon hasn't played much above AA, but he's shown promising power and developing plate discipline at that level with some speed skills becoming evident this past season. The 26-year-old should advance to AAA this season with the Red Sox and could show considerable improvement if they're able to achieve their organizational goal of developing strike zone judgment throughout their system.

Boston purchased James Lofton from the independent leagues in 2001, and I'm somewhat surprised that they bothered to re-sign the 28-year-old considering he's shown little offensive potential in the last two years. Jeff Smith is leaving the Twins organization for the first time since Minnesota drafted him out of Stetson University in the 20th round of the 1995 draft. The 28-year-old has spent much of the last six years at AA with occasional brief promotions to AAA. He has moderate power skills and some and has been able to hit for a not entirely unsupported average. The Red Sox should give him a chance at AAA in 2003.

Larry Sutton continues to demonstrate excellent plate discipline and moderate power potential. However, his defensive limitations make it difficult for the 32-year-old to find work in the majors. Unless the Red Sox have injury troubles, I don't expect Sutton to spend time with the big league club.

I really like the signing of Julio Zuleta and find it difficult to believe that the Cubs failed to raise his trade value with a few hundred major league at-bats, as he likely could have commanded a decent prospect. The 27-year-old doesn't have a lot of positional flexibility, but on an AL team with an open DH spot, he could produce nicely. Although his plate discipline is marred by his high strikeout totals, he can take a walk and his power potential is obvious. I wouldn't be surprised if he received considerable playing time in Boston in 2003.

Tom Davey is also among the better signings in this group. The 29-year-old spent most of 2002 rehabbing a shoulder injury. However he should provide inexpensive quality middle relief for Boston in 2003.

A first time minor league free agent after the Brewers drafted him out of high school in the sixth round of the 1996 draft, Paul Stewart shows definite potential. Last season the 23-year-old compiled a 124:42 K:BB with 147 H and 12 HR allowed in 161.2 IP for a 3.28 ERA, although that was in the pitcher friendly AA Southern League. I expect him to advance to AAA in 2003 with the Red Sox.

Kevin Tolar has struggled during his few brief stints in the majors, but he continues to demonstrate strong skills in the minors and deserves a shot at a lefty relief job. The 31-year-old could provide the Red Sox with a quality second to Alan Embree. I don't see Steve Woodard making any more than an emergency start for the Red Sox, but the 27-year-old should provide them with a solid middle reliever.

Seattle also picked up a player off waivers from the Devil Rays. Steve Kent, who Tampa claimed in last year's Rule 5 draft and kept on the roster all season, returned to his original team. I don't understand the logic behind investing the time and roster space the Devil Rays put into Kent, only to designate him for assignment. Kent struggled last season but that was because he jumped directly to the majors from A+ due to the Rule 5 process. The fact that he managed even a 41:38 K:BB with 67 H and 6 HR allowed in 57.1 IP for a 5.65 ERA indicates promise. Seattle should send him to AA for a few months to re-establish his confidence and work on his control. Once he's back on track, the 24-year-old can spend some time at AAA, and the Mariners should have a quality lefty reliever by September.

Kelly Wunsch and the White Sox avoided arbitration with a one-year $575,000 deal. The 30-year-old began having shoulder problems in 2001 and wasn't fully recovered from shoulder surgery when the 2002 season began. He suffered from control problems this past season, which limited his effectiveness, but those could have easily been related to his arm trouble. At this salary, if he rebounds Chicago has a nicely priced lefty reliever and if he doesn't his cost isn't astronomical.

The Yankees have signed RHP Winston Abreu and 2B-L Jackie Rexrode to minor league deals. I see no reason for New York to have bothered with Winston Abreu, as the 25-year-old's been unable even consistently demonstrate solid skills at AA. Jackie Rexrode hit for average last season, but it wasn't supported by his plate discipline and his speed isn't very valuable without solid on-base skills. The 24-year-old played in the independent leagues last season, and he's shown promising strike zone judgment in the past, so he might develop into decent trade bait at AA with the Yankees.

Lastly, Steve Lomasney signed a minor league contract with Minnesota. Lomasney doesn't have a lot of upside due to his poor plate discipline, but the 25-year-old offers a little power and is acceptable injury insurance for the Twins to keep in their minor leagues.