FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Not every player the Red Sox develop will play in Boston.

It's the nature of the business that trades need to be made in order to make a club better immediately and possibly for the future. That usually, if not always, means an organization will have to part ways with a top-notch prospect in order to acquire a player to fill a certain role.

Thursday afternoon at City of Palms Park was another example of that.

Pittsburgh was in town to play Boston and wearing No. 44 for the Pirates was former Red Sox outfielder prospect Brandon Moss. He played a total of 49 games for the Sox in 2007 and 2008 before he was traded to Pittsburgh as part of the three-team deal that sent Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers and Jason Bay to Boston.

Moss will likely be an everyday player with the Pirates, something he would have not been with the Sox. That deal worked out for everyone involved. But that hasn't always been the case.

At the trade deadline in 2003, the Sox traded top prospect Freddy Sanchez to the Pirates in exchange for Jeff Suppan. It turned out to be a bust for Boston and a home run for Pittsburgh.

When asked Thursday morning if he ever thinks of the what-ifs, Red Sox manager Terry Francona said no.

"There are not a lot of what-ifs," he said. "The position we're in - our mission statement - we try to win now and we try not to derail the winning in the future. I think we've handled the balance pretty well. There's no team out there that can keep every young player for a lot of different reasons."

When ownership of the Red Sox changed hands in December 2001, the club dedicated itself to winning. Theo Epstein became the general manager and his goal was to completely rebuild the minor-league system.

There's nothing minor about the farm system anymore. It's become more of a development system. Moss, the Sox' eighth-round selection in 2002, experienced the rebuilding of the development system first-hand.

"They have a first-class organization from the ownership down through rookie ball," he said. "Every single guy is on the same page. They're honest with you and they treat you great, and they treat your family great. I loved it there."

Heading into last offseason Epstein & Co. wanted to build a club for 2009, and beyond, that can accomplish the ultimate goal without sacrificing the Sox' best young players. By doing that, and not having to sign a high-profile free agent, the Sox believe that's a victory in itself.

Sure, Epstein and ownership attempted to sign Mark Teixeira, who eventually inked a deal with the Yankees. But the Sox believe they are still in great shape moving forward.

For Epstein and his staff, it's about building an organization around a core of players, not just one.

"We try to focus on building everyone," he said. "We try to focus on building an organization, not just for the 2009 Red Sox. As a team, the 2009 Red Sox will be a product of a lot of work from a lot of people for a lot of years to build this organization up. When you have to give up your best young players, you better be getting something pretty good in return because those are the building blocks of our organization. The way we've had success is the way, I hope, we continue to have success by bringing up players through the system and having them become important parts of the big-league team. That's the foundation for sustained success."

The majority of the key components of the Red Sox are homegrown players, including Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, Jed Lowrie, Manny Delcarmen, Justin Masterson, Jacoby Ellsbury and Jon Lester.

And there are many more players chomping at the bit in the development system, too.

"We all know if they're going to come up through our organization and help us win, they better know how to play," said Francona. "Thankfully we're not in an environment where you can send a kid out there for 100 games and having the luxury of being 30 games out and nobody cares. None of us want that luxury. But you have to have some pretty special young players at the same time, and we've been fortunate with that."

According to Francona, there's a fine line between a veteran team and an old team.

"When you're winning, you're a veteran team and when you're losing, you're old," Francona said. "Theo and these guys have done a great job of not letting us get old because it's something we do worry about. We love having those veteran guys who know how to play, but if you go too far it doesn't work either."

The Red Sox have a standard for prospects and they never deviate from that philosophy.

Players coming up through the system have to be ready mentally, physically and fundamentally. If they prove at the development level to have all the tools, the organization has proven in the past it is willing to part with a veteran player and give a rookie an opportunity to succeed.

Pedroia and Ellsbury are perfect examples of that notion. The Sox could have re-signed Mark Loretta after the 2006 season for under $1 million but the club decided not to in order to give Pedroia his chance. And look how that has worked out.

The Sox traded Coco Crisp over the winter, leaving the center field job to Ellsbury.

"It's a good problem to have," said Epstein. "We have a good track record for clearing spots."