DALLAS — At some point today, agent Scott Boras is expected to speak to a throng of reporters and to articulate the incredibly large, robust markets for his virtually incomparable stable of clients. However, it will be fascinating to hear how he makes the case for one of his clients who is being monitored by the Red Sox.

At one point in early-November, it appeared that closer Ryan Madson would be the first person to set the free agent market. Madson reportedly was on the cusp of a four-year deal with the Phillies near the start of the bidding season. However, those talks unraveled, Philadelphia signed Jonathan Papelbon, and since then, there have been no real reports of a burgeoning market for Madson.

Moreover, the number of teams still searching for a closer appears to be dwindling. The Phillies, Marlins, Padres, Blue Jays and Mets have all added closers. The Reds are still looking for a ninth-inning solution, though a relatively cost-effective one (hence explaining their unwillingness to exercise their option on Francisco Cordero).

The Red Sox might be in the market for a closer, and according to a team source, they continue to monitor Madson, though the Sox have the fallback of Daniel Bard. Ditto for the Angels, who might be in the market for a back-end bullpen option, but who also have Jordan Walden, who was an All-Star last year, albeit one who performed with inconsistency typical of a rookie.

Right now, there is no team that represents an obvious fit to give Madson a top-of-the-market, multi-year deal. The closer, who had a 2.37 ERA while recording 32 saves, striking out 62 and walking just 16 in 60 2/3 innings, right now may be on the outside looking in on the game of musical chairs.

Of course, the possibility remains that another club could swoop in with an unexpected offer, as happened last year when Boras client Rafael Soriano received a three-year, $35 million offer to set up for the Yankees. Even so, right now, the potential destinations for Madson are dwindling, leading to a dramatic loss in leverage, something noted by multiple agents who do not represent the pitcher.

As Sox GM Ben Cherington explained earlier in the winter meetings, the Red Sox are not looking to set the market with their deals. The expect return of David Ortiz will leave the Sox with little payroll flexibility.

However, as was the case a couple years ago when the Sox reached a one-year deal with Boras client Adrian Beltre, it remains intriguing to see whether Madson’s demands adjust to his market demand. Alternately, ESPN’s Jayson Stark reported (via twitter) that Madson could accept arbitration from the Phillies, although the fact that he made just $4.83 million in 2011 and that he has only one year as a full-time closer could limit the type of award he would receive through arbitration.

A couple other notes:

– The lobby of the winter meetings buzzed for a few minutes early on Wednesday afternoon with the announcement by agent Nez Balelo that his client, six-time Japanese All-Star Nori Aoki, would be posted by his Japanese team, the Yakult Swallows, on Dec. 12.

That posting date is intended to give teams a chance to have a full assessment of their outfield needs, since it coincides with the date for the non-tender deadline. In a relatively weak free-agent class of outfielders, the right-handed Aoki — who is considered capable of playing all three outfield positions — will be available at a potentially portentous time. Though he does not have much power, the 29-year-old is a speedy hitter in a top- or bottom-of-the-order mold who has a career .329 average, .402 OBP and .454 slugging mark in the NPB.

However, barring an unexpected development in the Red Sox’ roster, the team is not expected to pursue Aoki. While the team continues to pursue a right-handed outfield bat, perhaps as a complement to Josh Reddick (unless he is traded), Aoki is unlikely to come to Major League Baseball for a part-time role. Moreover, it remains the case that the Sox are operating as if they have limited financial flexibility, and so Aoki is unlikely to be a fit.

– Balelo also represents right-hander Takashi Saito, who will return to the majors next year at age 42.

“He keeps getting younger,” said Balelo. “He’s like a win win who keeps getting better.”

Saito was limited by injuries to 30 games with the Brewers last year. He had a 2.03 ERA, 23 strikeouts and nine walks in 26 2/3 innings. Saito enjoyed his season in Boston in 2009, during which he had a 2.43 ERA in 56 games.

However, while Balelo said that reports of six to eight teams being interested in Saito were accurate, and he is open to going to either the American League or National League, an industry source said that the Red Sox were not one of the suitors for the veteran.

Hiroki Kuroda

The Red Sox reportedly are one of the teams in on Dodgers free agent right-handed pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, but the 36-year-old appears to be receiving plenty of interest elsewhere as well. According to a tweet from Yahoo’s Steve Henson, Kuroda could finalize a deal with the Diamondbacks this week if he drops his demand for a second-year player option.

Kuroda is said to be seeking a deal with $12 million to $13 million per season, with interest coming from outside Major League Baseball in the form of the Hiroshima Carp of the Japanese League.

The Diamondbacks also are said to be high on reliever Takashi Saito, who pitched for the Brewers in 2011 and was a member of the Red Sox in 2009. Fox Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi reports that six teams have shown interest in Saito, including the Brewers.

The Red Sox would have been content to bring back either left-hander Billy Wagner or right-hander Takashi Saito. Though both veterans will require careful health management to ensure their productivity, both the 38-year-old Wagner and the 39-year-old Saito proved effective in 2009.

Wagner had a 1.72 ERA in 17 big-league appearances in his return from Tommy John surgery, punching out 26 batters in the process. Saito had a 2.43 ERA in his 56 appearances.

But, with both relievers having signed with the Braves in a span of less than 48 hours, the Sox are prepared to move on. The Sox offered Wagner salary arbitration, though they anticipated that the left-hander would pursue a job as a closer elsewhere, a notion that was borne out by his $7 million deal. And yesterday, Saito — who was offered a short-money deal by the Sox, who liked the right-hander, but felt compelled to manage his usage carefully given an elbow that nearly required Tommy John surgery in 2008 — followed Wagner to Atlanta, with a deal that guarantees him a reported $3.2 million.

Now, the Sox have a pair of openings in their bullpen for 2010. Barring a trade, the team will return Jonathan Papelbon, Daniel Bard, Hideki Okajima, Ramon Ramirez and Manny Delcarmen to next year’s relief corps, the primary members of a group that forged a 3.80 ERA (second-best among AL bullpens) in 2009.

If the team wants to look internally to replace Wagner and Saito to fill out the ‘pen, it could look to left-hander Dustin Richardson (who struck out 11.7 batters per nine innings in the minors in 2009 before tossing 3.1 scoreless innings in the majors following a September call-up), Michael Bowden (who struggled to a 9.56 ERA in 16 big-league innings, but finished sixth in the International League (min. 100 innings) with a 3.13 ERA) or right-hander Junichi Tazawa (2.55 ERA in Double A and Triple A; 2-3, 7.46 ERA in the majors).

The team has also shown interest in free agents Rafael Soriano (2.97 ERA, 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings with the Braves in 2009) and left-hander Mike Gonzalez (5-4, 2.42 ERA, 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings for Atlanta in 2009).

According to CBSSports.com, free-agent reliever Takashi Saito is prepared to sign a one-year, $3 million deal with the Braves. The report suggests that the deal will be announced later today.

Saito spent the 2009 season with the Red Sox, after signing an incentive-laden deal with a base salary of $1.5 million. Saito remained healthy and pitched well, recording a 2.43 ERA in 56 games as a middle-innings reliever. In the process, he earned enough incentives to increase the value of his deal to $6 million.

The Red Sox were interested in bringing Saito back to Boston, and the pitcher (who will turn 40 on Valentine’s Day) was interested in remaining with the Sox. However, it appears that the Braves were able to make a more attractive offer.

The Braves have now signed a pair of relievers who finished 2009 with the Sox, having also inked reliever Billy Wagner to a one-year, $7 million deal.

The Red Sox hold (or, in some cases, held) options for the 2010 season on seven members of the club. If exercised, the players (in most cases) can be retained for next year. If declined by the team, then the players become free agents. Here is a quick look at those players, as well as the timelines for decisions about the options:

Josh Beckett (team option): His $12.1 million option for 2010 vested when he made his 28th start of the season on Sept. 7.

Alex Gonzalez (mutual option): The club has until five days after the World Series to make a decision about whether to exercise its $6 million option for next year. If it declines the option, it must pay a $500,000 buyout. Since it is a mutual option, if the Sox do pick up the option, Gonzalez would then have two days to decide whether to accept or decline the chance to return to Boston on that one-year, $6 million deal. If he declines the option, he also voids the buyout.

Victor Martinez (team option): The Sox have until five days after the World Series to make their decision on Martinez’ $7 million option for next year. Insofar as G.M. Theo Epstein has already proclaimed Martinez the team’s primary catcher for 2010, it would appear that the catcher/first baseman need not concern himself with the possibility of a $250,000 buyout.

Takashi Saito (team option): Based on his 2009 earnings, the Sox could have retained Saito on a one-year, $6 million deal with a potential $1.5 million in incentives for 2010. Instead, the team attempted to outright him, resulting in the right-hander declaring himself a free agent, thereby removing the possibility of an option. Saito remains open to the possibility of returning as a free agent. Indeed, the attempted outright assignment was done precisely so that Saito could become a free agent who was could re-sign with the Sox this offseason.

Jason Varitek (team and player options): The Sox have until five days after the World Series to decide whether to exercise their $5 million club option on Varitek for next season. If the Sox decline their option, then Varitek would have five days from the time of being notified of the club’s decision to decide whether or not to exercise a one-year, $3 million (with the possibility of another $2 million in incentives) player option.

Billy Wagner (team option): The Sox formally agreed not to pick up Wagner’s $8 million option for the 2010 season at the time that he agreed to waive his no-trade clause. Instead, the team is on the hook for his $1 million buy-out. The real intrigue with Wagner revolves around whether he will be offered arbitration, and if he is, whether he will accept it. As Wagner told Rob Bradford, he anticipates that the Sox will make the offer and he will decline it in order to become a free agent and pursue the opportunity to close elsewhere.

Tim Wakefield (team option): The Sox have until five days after the World Series to exercise their recurring $4 million option on Wakefield. Barring any setbacks following his “successful” surgery today, the Sox would appear likely to retain the services of a player who likely ranks as one of the top two free-agent bargains in Red Sox history.

Red Sox reliever Takashi Saito cleared outright waivers on Monday, and elected to become a free agent. As noted last week, the Sox and Saito found such an outcome mutually beneficial, since having Saito become a free agent via this process allows the Sox to negotiate with him this offseason about a possible return. Had the Sox instead released the pitcher after declining his $6 million option (with a potential $1.5 million in incentives for 2010), the club would not have been eligible to negotiate with him until May 15.

Saito is open to re-signing with the Red Sox, though the pitcher plans to talk to other clubs as well. According to a baseball source, the Sox have expressed some interest in bringing the right-hander back, though there have not been any discussions of specific contract terms. In 56 appearances that spanned 55.2 innings, Saito finished the year with a 2.43 ERA, the eighth lowest by an American League reliever with 40 or more appearances.

Contrary to a report on Thursday afternoon, there has been no transaction to this point involving Red Sox reliever Takashi Saito, according to a major-league source. Specifically, as of Thursday afternoon, he has not been assigned outright to Pawtucket or removed from the 40-man roster.

That said, it would not come as a surprise if the Sox were to attempt to outright Saito in the coming days for the purposes of making him a free agent, since doing so would give the club its best opportunity to re-sign the pitcher as a free agent. Here’s how:

For the team to attempt an outright assignment, Saito would have to be placed on and clear outright waivers. Assuming that he went unclaimed, Saito — as a player with 3+ years of major-league service time — would have the right to elect free agency. The pitcher unquestionably would exercise that right. That, in turn, would make him an unrestricted free agent, eligible to re-sign with any of the 30 MLB teams, including the Red Sox.

The Sox hold a $6 million option (with an additional $1.5 million in potential incentives) on Saito for the 2010 season. As WEEI.com reported earlier this month, a clause in Saito’s contract required the Sox to release the pitcher if they did not exercise their option. If the Sox simply release Saito without outrighting him, however, they would be ineligible to re-sign Saito until May 15. Free agency resulting from an outright assignment, on the other hand, would put the Sox on a level playing field with the other 29 teams in bidding for the pitcher’s services.

Saito went 3-3 with a 2.43 ERA in 56 appearances for the Sox this year, striking out 52 and allowing 50 hits in 55.2 innings. The Sox signed him to a base salary of $1.5 million with numerous incentives last offseason, and those incentives ultimately increased the value of both his 2009 earnings and his 2010 option to $6 million.

Though the Sox almost certainly will not exercise the pitcher’s 2010 option, the possibility remains that the team could seek to re-sign Saito for a lower base salary. The right-hander, who will be 40 next season, said that he would like to return to pitch in the majors again in 2010, and that he would like to return to the Sox.

“Since it’s something I can’t control, I can’t say much, but I’m hoping to come back to America and pitch again, and [would like] especially to come back to the Red Sox,” Saito said in late-September.