Ramon Ramirez

For the second time in three years, the San Francisco Giants will enter spring training with the feeling of being World Series champions. 

However, there are still some questions that need to be answered and some concerns about the defending champions.

The San Francisco Giants' offseason tour down memory lane continued on Tuesday when the team reportedly re-acquired free agent reliever Ramon Ramirez on a minor league contract (h/t Andrew Baggarly).

With Opening Day right around the corner, the San Francisco Giants got the news on Sunday that bearded closer Brian Wilson has a mild oblique strain that could keep him out for Opening Day and then some.

Although Brian Wilson vows to be ready for Opening Day, the reality is an oblique strain is nothing to take lightly, and don't think the Giants don't realize this.

Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt went throught the exact same thing last summer when he strained is left oblique. Affeldt would be held out of 23 games.

The Boston Red Sox have acquired minor league pitcher and 2007 8th-round draft pick Daniel Turpen from San Francisco to complete a trade deadline deal that sent reliever Ramon Ramirez to the Giants, according to WEEI's Rob Bradford.

The 6-3, 230-pound Turpen turns twenty-four this August and has posted a 2.69 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP in over 220 composite minor-league innings. While Turpen has naturally been most dominant at the Single-A level, his 2010 numbers at Double-A Richmond haven't been quite as impressive.

The Boston Red Sox have traded struggling righty reliever Ramon Ramirez to the San Francisco Giants at the 2010 MLB trade deadline.

While Ramirez has been less than effective in the American League this season, the Red Sox have been actively shopping him to National League clubs with whom he might experience a resurgence, including the New York Mets.

Milwaukee Brewer Trevor Hoffman isn't available at this year's trade deadline, but that didn't stop Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein from asking after the closer he first met while working for the San Diego Padres, according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal.

Not remotely effective this season, Hoffman owns a 6.82 ERA over 33 innings and joins a nearly all-inclusive group of relievers that the Red Sox are pursuing in the final days leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline this Saturday.

The Boston Red Sox tendered a trade offer to the New York Mets that would have sent Boston reliever Ramon Ramirez to the Big Apple in exchange for veteran catcher Rod Barajas. The deal, however, was at least temporarily tabled when Barajas landed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left oblique, according to FOX's Ken Rosenthal and WEEI's Alex Speier.

While the deal may not be entirely dead, the Red Sox aren't likely to pursue another injured catcher with Jason Varitek nursing a broken foot and Victor Martinez having just returned from the disabled list.