ESTIMATED 2013 TOTAL COMMITMENTS: $138 MILLION (AS MEASURED FOR LUXURY TAX PURPOSES)

That still leaves more than $40 million for the Red Sox to spend without reaching the luxury tax threshold. If the team trades the arbitration-eligible Jacoby Ellsbury, then that freedom would grow to something more like $50 million.

That, in turn, means the Sox can still consider anyone on the market. In the unlikely event, for instance, that Anibal Sanchez might be open to a four-year deal, the Sox could ...

the Red Sox have discussed the possibility of trading left-hander Jon Lester to the Royals as part of a package that would net outfield megaprospect Wil Myers in return, one of the foremost position playing prospects in all of baseball, and someone who is viewed as big league ready for 2013.

It is a deal that is breathtaking in its conception, and that raises considerable, fundamental questions about the Red Sox and the state of baseball. Could the Sox shed their Opening Day starter and ...