"The Red Sox' pursuit of Billy Wagner reportedly hit a stumbling block last night.

And closer Jonathan Papelbon wasn't so sure that was a bad thing.

Asked before the Sox' 8-4 loss to the Yankees if he thought the team should acquire the left-handed reliever from the Mets, Papelbon had mixed feelings.

"It's a tough decision, because do you disrupt what we have now or do you make it better?" he said. "It's a tough decision, and I'm glad I don't have to make it."

What makes the decision "tough" in Papelbon's mind appears to come out of a sense of loyalty he feels to the current bullpen.

As in, if it's not broke, why fix it?

Sox relievers have been mostly productive since the arrival of Daniel Bard in mid-May. Papelbon, Bard, Hideki Okajima, Manny Delcarmen, Ramon Ramirez and Takashi Saito went into last night's game with a 3.67 ERA, second lowest in the AL.

The Sox picked up Wagner on waivers from the Mets last week, and the two teams have until tomorrow to work out a deal. However, FoxSports.com reported last night that a potential trade was in jeopardy.

According to the report, Wagner's agent, Bean Stringfellow, asked the Red Sox to promise not to guarantee Wagner's 2010 option, which is worth $8 million, so that he could become a free agent. In addition, Stringfellow wanted to make sure that the Sox didn't offer Wagner salary arbitration. If they did, another club would have to forfeit draft picks to the Sox, thus making Wagner less appealing to sign."