2) See what sort of interest exists for Daisuke Matsuzaka.
The Red Sox weren't interested in swapping Matsuzaka for Kosuke Fukodome, but that doesn't mean they won't listen to other offers for the enigmatic pitcher.
It's expected that some West Coast teams (San Diego, Seattle and perhaps the Los Angeles Dodgers) will, at the very least, inquire about Matsuzaka, who could thrive in the National League.
The Red Sox are four-deep in their rotation (Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, John Lackey) and could afford to auction off Matsuzaka for the right return. The thinking is that Matsuzaka could be a quality No. 2 or No. 3 starter on a N.L. staff.
Of course, Matsuzaka has a full no-trade clause in his contract and would have to approve any deal the Sox put together. But given that Matsuzaka has no deep ties to Boston and would be closer to Japan on the West Coast, that's not expected to be a huge impediment.
With two years and 20 million remaining on his contract, Matsuzaka would not be an inexpensive acquistion for teams. That said, the Sox are not in the mood to take some of the remaining money back in order to facilitiate a deal. If the Sox have to subsidize a trade, they'd just as soon hold onto Matsuzaka.
Consider, also, that the Sox' position is enhanced by the relative lack of starting pitching on the free agent market. After Cliff Lee, the next best starters are probably Jorge de La Rosa and Carl Pavano. That paucity of pitching only strengthens the hands of team with starting pitching to spare.
Previous: Determine the market for Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth
Next: Make alternate plans for catcher and either first or third base