01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, April 16, 2006

BOSTON -- In the span of three days last week, the Red Sox gave out two contracts totaling $65.5 million, extending the existing deals of designated hitter David Ortiz and outfielder Coco Crisp.

For the Sox, both deals managed to pass the specific qualifications set forth by the club for such contracts: they provided some cost certainty for the organization and the dollars involved were at -- or slightly below -- market value.

Salary escalation may have slowed some, but there's little doubt that Ortiz's $12.5-million average annual value (AAV) will be seen as a bargain by 2009 or 2010.

In the case of Crisp, the Sox made a legitimate gamble that the $4.75 million they'll pay him in 2008 will be more than affordable relative to the market at the time.

"We've made a concerted effort to reach agreement with players we feel are on the upswing," general manager Theo Epstein said in announcing the deals.

The Sox were unafraid to commit these future dollars in part because their books were clear after 2008. By the end of that season, the Sox will be free of their salary obligations to Manny Ramirez (notwithstanding some deferred payments), Jason Varitek and Curt Schilling.

By contrast, the New York Yankees have more than $90 million on their books for 2009 and 2010, with obligations to, among others, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon.

Don't expect, however, that the new deals will result in many others being issued in the near future. Two weeks into the season, the Red Sox pay window has been shuttered. Any other contractual business will have to wait until after the season, so as to avoid off-field distractions.

Beyond the mega-deals for Schilling, Varitek, Ramirez and Ortiz, the rest of the roster falls into several remaining categories: unproven and under the Red Sox control (Jonathan Papelbon and Kevin Youkilis); aging veterans playing out existing deals (Mike Lowell, Julian Tavarez, Mark Loretta and Trot Nixon), or short-term solutions (Josh Bard, J.T. Snow, Alex Gonzalez).

The lone player remaining who would fit the profile for a new deal is starting pitcher Josh Beckett, and the Sox are wisely waiting here.

Beckett, who makes his third start of the season this afternoon against the Seattle Mariners, was the centerpiece of the Sox' seven-player deal with the Florida Marlins last November. When Beckett was obtained, it was agreed by both sides that any long-term talks would be tabled for the time being.

Avoiding a trip to the arbitration table, Beckett and the club settled on a $4.5 million salary for this season. The 25-year-old right-hander will again be arbitration eligible this winter, but will still be a year shy of free-agent eligibility.

In that way, Beckett would be given time to better acclimate himself to the city, the market and the organization. At the same time, the Red Sox could take the season to further evaluate Beckett's durability.

After all, Beckett has yet to pitch more than 178 innings in a single season and has a history of shoulder woes. The Sox only need look to the Toronto Blue Jays, who must have swallowed hard when their $55-million investment, A.J. Burnett, walked off the mound in spring training with elbow soreness.

As it turned out, Burnett was merely lost for two starts. But the risk in committing to young pitchers with uncertain health is obvious.

Moreover, the Sox no doubt have some concerns about how the emotional Beckett might be affected by ongoing talks. Through two games, Beckett has shown his demonstrative side; were he to be sidetracked by negotiations, who could tell what sort of problems that could bring?

Should Beckett make 30-plus starts and pitch as well as he has in his first two outings, the Sox would have little hesitation in getting him locked up in a multiyear deal. If the Sox can get Beckett for, say, a four-year, $40-million pact this winter, they will have put in place the centerpiece of their rotation for several seasons to come.

Schilling figures to retire when his deal expires after next season, and Papelbon, though roughly the same age as Beckett, is not yet ready to assume the role of rotation linchpin.

Given the demand for pitching, teams are being more aggressive in securing what they have. The Blue Jays have already extended Roy Halladay, and the Minnesota Twins (Johan Santana), Chicago White Sox (Jon Garland) and Milwaukee Brewers (Ben Sheets) have done the same.

The free-agent pitching market this winter figures to be strong, boasting lefties Mark Mulder and Barry Zito, along with Jason Schmidt. The 2007 free-agent class will include Mark Buehrle and a host of others.

The quicker the Sox get Beckett taken care of, the less they have to wonder about market conditions driving his price higher still. With the money for Schilling and Clement off the books after 2007, the Sox would also be positioned to make a run at one of the lefties (Zito, Mulder, Buehrle) to balance the rotation.

The rest of the staff will be relatively affordable, since Papelbon will remain under their control, Jon Lester will have minimal service time and Tim Wakefield can be renewed annually for $4.5 million.

smcadam@projo.com / (401) 277-7340