Rangers get lefty for Gagné

The Rangers traded closer Eric Gagné to the Red Sox just before Tuesday's deadline for left-handed starting pitcher Kason Gabbard and minor league outfielders David Murphy and Engel Beltre. Gabbard (4-0, 3.73 ERA) will join the starting rotation.

Salty-Teixeira deal complete

The Rangers also got left-handed pitchers Matt Harrison and Beau Jones in the deal that sent Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay to the Braves for catcher/first baseman Jarrod Saltalamacchia and four minor leaguers (shortstop Elvis Andrus and pitcher Neftali Feliz are the other two). Harrison was rated as the Braves'No. 3 prospect byBaseball America.

Sosa stays put; Laird still catching

The Rangers weren't able to trade Sammy Sosa, which will make it more difficult to give Jason Botts time at designated hitter. He is hitting .320 with 13 home runs at Triple A Oklahoma. Saltalamacchia will play first base and back up Gerald Laird at catcher.

Their assignments

Saltalamacchia and Gabbard are expected to be with the team today; Murphy is headed to Oklahoma and Harrison to Double A Frisco. The other four minor leaguers are going to four teams.

So, who's closing?

With Akinori Otsuka on the DL, the Rangers will rely on a committee headed by Joaquin Benoit and Frank Francisco.

WHO THE RANGERS GOT

Kason Gabbard, LHPGabbard, 25, started the season with Triple A Pawtucket and went 7-2 with a 3.24 ERA. Three of his past four outings for Boston have been quality starts, including a three-hit shutout of Kansas City on July 16. In 2006, he was 1-3 with a 3.51 ERA for Boston. Gabbard, drafted in 2000, had left elbow surgery in 2003.

David Murphy, OFMurphy, 25, will head to Triple A Oklahoma. He has spent most of the season with Pawtucket, where he hit .280 with nine homers and 47 RBI. He was the Red Sox's 15th-ranked prospect, according toBaseball America. Murphy played at Baylor and was a first-round pick in 2003 after an All-America junior season.

Engel Beltre, OFThe 18-year-old Dominican is one of the youngest players in the minors. ESPN rated him No. 2 of the available players in the international free-agent signing period last summer. He played in 34 rookie league games, hitting .208 with 11 extra-base hits and 13 RBI. He's headed to the Rangers'rookie league team.

Texas Rangers pitcher Akinori Otsuka, of Japan, throws during the ninth inning of the baseball game against the Boston Red Sox in Arlington,Texas, Saturday, May 26, 2007. " align="left" border="0">

As if the Boston Red Sox didn't have enough going for them. The team with the best record in baseball now has surging Manny Ramirez on their side. Ramirez had four hits and keyed a five-run sixth inning with an RBI triple to help the Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 7-4 Saturday night. Ramirez is 8-for-12 in his past three games and his batting average has improved 84 points in May to .272.