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 outbid anyone for him. If a starter loses the game of musical chairs and is left to look for the best one-year deal at the end of the winter, the Sox can outbid anyone. Indeed, the Sox could still add a starter and, if he’s available on a one-year deal, someone like Stephen Drew without reaching the luxury tax threshold.

Moreover, the team has yet to give up any prospects or sacrifice any draft picks this offseason. All of that underscores the notion that, to date, the Sox haven’t done anything to impede any other moves they want to make.

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 contend? Is a player who hasn’t spent a day in the majors—and who thus would remain under team control for at least six years—more valuable than an established two-time All-Star (albeit one coming off a down year) who is theoretically in his career prime but who has just two years before reaching free agency? Is a potential top-of-the-rotation starter more or less valuable than a potential middle-of-the-lineup force?

The lines of inquiry are fascinating but, for now, theoretical. As Bradford points out, there’s no indication at this time that anything is close to getting done between the two teams. Nonetheless, the questions are sufficiently interesting that it’s worth a more detailed examination.