Last week, the Boston Red Sox were said to be moving closer to a deal with free agent Vicente Padilla. Then they were not. Then they were. Now a deal is in place! Not that we really have much in the way of details, but, take it away, Peter Gammons:

Vicente Padilla has agreed with Red Sox

I haven't seen word on the terms, but one can expect that Padilla is signing one of two deals:

(1) A minor league contract with an invitation to spring training

(2) A one-year major league contract with incentives and a low base

According to Jon Heyman, it's a minor league contract. So, what are the Red Sox doing? They already have Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz in their rotation, right? Well, right, but a rotation has five pitchers, not three, and beyond those three, things get shaky. There's Daniel Bard, who'll be trying to start. There's Alfredo Aceves. There's Carlos Silva, and Aaron Cook, and Andrew Miller, and Brandon Duckworth, and...and it's not the worst idea in the world to accumulate guys like Padilla on no-commitment contracts. Just for insurance.

Padilla missed most of the 2011 season after undergoing neck surgery. The year before, though, he put up a 3.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 16 starts with the Dodgers, and he still throws a live fastball. So he's worth a look. Maybe he'll make the Boston rotation. Maybe he'll make the Boston bullpen. Maybe he'll end up in the minors or released. These contracts are cheap.

The Red Sox are still supposed to be sniffing around Roy Oswalt, although a recent report said they'd have to move payroll to fit him in.