Kuzul

Spring training games begin in a week, and the Red Sox still have work to do.

Boston is likely finished adding star players and major coaching personnel, but the team still has several tasks to complete before the games start on Feb. 21.

The Red Sox don’t have to figure out their rotation just yet. After Lester and Buchholz, the third, fourth and fifth spots are fair game. The order of the bottom half of the rotation will be determined during spring training.

The Red Sox also don’t have to figure out the official batting order just yet. It will evolve throughout the first weeks and vary pending on the throwing arms of the opposing pitchers.

The team has five other, more important things to worry about before spring training games start.

Begin Slideshow

In recent years, the Red Sox produced very few minor leaguers that were featured on Keith Law’s annual list of the top 100 prospects. Only two players made last year’s list.

However, four prospects, including one in the top five, made the exclusive list this year.

Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Allen Webster and Matt Barnes were featured on the Law’s list of the top 100 prospects for 2013. It was the first time since 2010, more than three players were featured on the Senior baseball analyst’s list for ESPN Insider.

Bogaerts ranked as high as No. 5 on the list. The 20-year-old shortstop jumped 57 spots and was ranked No. 62 in 2012.

The top ranked Red Sox prospect hit .326 and slugged .598 with 10 doubles, five home runs and 17 runs batted in over 23 games in AA. Between Salem and Portland, Bogaerts totaled 37 doubles, three triples, 20 homers and 81 RBI.

Given his hitting success for a shortsop, Law ranked Bogaerts as a top-tier prospect.

“A shortstop who can hit like this is a pretty special commodity,” Law wrote. “Bogaerts has a very easy, picturesque right-handed swing.”

Bogaerts is only an average fielding shortstop, but with his success at the plate, he could dethrone Jose Iglesias as the shortstop of the future.

Unlike Bogaerts, Bradley Jr. is a plus-defender with an average bat. The soon-to-be 23-year-old center fielder ranked No. 40 on Law’s list.

Bradley Jr. hit .271 and slugged .437 with 16 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 29 runs batted in over 61 games in AA. Between Salem and Portland, he hit 42 doubles, four triples, nine homers and 63 RBI. He also posted a .430 OBP and stole 24 bases.

However, Bradley Jr. isn’t ranked No. 40 for his bat. Law writes that he even has Gold Glove potential.

“Bradley is a potential Gold Glove defender in center,” the baseball analyst wrote. “His reads on balls in center rival those of the other elite defensive center fielders in the minors.”

Bradley Jr. could be Jacoby Ellsbury’s replacement if the team’s current star center fielder is traded or signs else where during or after his contract year.

The next two Red Sox prospects on Law’s list include two right-handed starting pitchers–Webster and Barnes.

Webster was acquired with Rubby De La Rosa in the blockbuster trade with the Dodgers last season. He ranked No. 61 on last year’s list with his former team.

Between Boston’s and Los Angeles’ AA teams, the soon-to-be 23-year-old posted a 6-9 record, 3.86 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and .265 BAA with 129 strikeouts over 130.2 innings in 2012.

His minor league statistics weren’t flashy, but Webster has three plus pitches and should start “at or near the top of someone’s rotation.” His fastball reaches 97 mph, and he has a plus sinker and changeup to complement his high heater.

Fellow B/R writer, Andrew Martin, wrote a piece on Webster’s pursuit to pitch on the major league level.

On the other hand, Barnes ranked No. 79 on Law’s list. The 22-year-old is a former first round draft pick in the 2011 June Amateur Draft.

Barnes never pitched higher than A level in 2012. The UCONN alum posted a 7-5 record, 2.86 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and .225 BAA with an impressive 10.0 K/9 over 119.2 innings.

The ESPN Insider writer noted that although Barnes doesn’t consistently throw a 93-97 mph fastball, he has solid off-speed pitches. His “above-average downer curveball” and improving changeup complement the command of his fastball.

Like Barnes, Law also needs to see more from starting pitcher Henry Owens before he can rank the two prospects higher on his list. Owens is a 2011 first-round draft pick, as well, who fell just short of his top 100 list.

The 19-year-old southpaw posted a 12-5 record, 4.87 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and a very impressive 11.5 K/9. Owens won’t blow batters away with his 88-92 mph fastball, but his “big, slow curveball” and ability to hide the ball well behind his 6’6″ frame strikes out a lot of opposing hitters.

The last time the Red Sox had at least four prospects on Law’s list of top 100 was in 2010. That list featured seven minor leaguers, and none ranked nearly as high as Bogaerts was.

The only players on the 2010 list that are still on the Red Sox roster include outfielder Ryan Kalish, shortstop Jose Iglesias and right-handed pitcher Junichi Tazawa.

Law only ranked the Red Sox with the No. 17 farm system in the MLB. However, his updated list of the top 100 prospects features four minor leaguers and one top five prospect that could make a huge impact at the professional level in the near future.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Shane Victorino statistically had the worst full season of his career in 2012.

Yet, the Red Sox still signed the free agent to a three-year, $39 million deal.

Victorino posted career-low numbers in batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage.

Last season, the 32-year-old hit .255 and slugged .383 with 72 runs, 29 doubles, seven triples, 11 homers and 55 runs batted in. He had a career-high 39 stolen bases, but he also posted a career-high 80 strikeouts and a career low .704 OPS.

Not once in the 2012 season did the Hawaiian native hit greater than .290 or slug greater than .450 in a month (excluding October, in which he played three games).

In the final two full months of his contract year, Victorino hit .239 with only 13 extra base hits and 15 RBI combined.

The soon-to-be Red Sox right fielder really hasn’t been that great over the last three seasons.

Since 2010, he’s hit .264 and averaged approximately 84 runs, 27 doubles, 11 triples, 15 HRs and 62 RBI. The long-time National Leaguer has averaged 31 stolen bases a season, but with his on base percentage declining and hitting a career low in 2012, his stolen base total should see a decline as well.

By signing Victorino, the Red Sox will no longer be pursuing other free agents like Josh Hamilton, Cody Ross and Nick Swisher.

The Red Sox could have signed Hamilton to a three-year deal worth twice as much as Victorino’s, but instead they decided to save $30-plus million and pass on one of the best hitters in the league.

The Red Sox could have re-signed Ross, whose AVG vs. LHP was 28 points lower but SLG% vs. LHP was 118 points greater Victorino’s, to a less expensive three-year deal,. Instead, Ben Cherington passed on a player who hit. 298 and slugged .565 at Fenway Park last season, while Victorino is 2-for-14 (.143) in his career at the ballpark.

The Red Sox could have even went with Ryan Kalish, who will return in 2013 healthy and hit for a greater AVG and SLG% in 2010 (his only significant playing time) than Victorino did in 2012, but instead the Red Sox, it appears, will not be patient with the young prospect.

Almost $40 million over three years is a lot to pay a player who hit just .230 and slugged .332 against RHP last season.

In fact, former GM and current ESPN analyst Jim Bowden predicted that the two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove Award winner would sign for three years and approximately $30 million. Bowden noted that Victorino is “in decline” and “his contract will exceed his talent because of his makeup.”

The Red Sox looked past that and overpaid the free agent’s predicted, overpaid contract by about $10 million.

Victorino will bring a good glove and speed to the team, but his offensive numbers are in decline.

The Red Sox overpaid for Victorino and should have looked elsewhere, or even within, for a right fielder.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Red Sox have already made two inexpensive free-agent signings this offseason in catcher David Ross and outfielder Jonny Gomes.

Signing Ross for $3.2 million per year and Gomes for $5 million per year could prove to be great bargains over the next two seasons for the Red Sox.

Ross is an under-the-radar, great defensive catcher who throws out opposing baserunners well and has recorded a low catcher’s ERA in each of the last four seasons.

Gomes is a great leader and clubhouse influence who’s hit left-handed pitching well over his career. He’s also a dead pull hitter who could crush many balls off and over the Green Monster in the next two seasons.

Both players were signed at a low cost for only two years, and both could provide bigger impacts for the Red Sox than other free agents who require a more costly and demanding asking price.

In honor of Black Friday, what follows are five ideas for inexpensive free-agent signings the Red Sox will likely consider this offseason, all of which could be great bargains in 2013.

Begin Slideshow