TIME TO TRADE BUCHHOLZ?

This offseason has been insane. Starting with the Phillies/Rays matchup that nobody saw coming, baseball has been on a roller coaster ride for the past three plus months. Twists and turns have swept up all 30 teams, and we have seen some ridiculous changes.

With the Yankees sweeping up all the top free agents, apparently trying to form some sort of fantasy baseball team, the Red Sox have struggled to counter. CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Mark Teixeira are all huge additions in the Big Apple, and in the view of many an "expert", have propelled the Yankees ahead of the Sox and Rays as the favorites to win the AL East this season. But in the words of Lee Corso, not so fast my friends! The Red Sox keep adding players, and will have a very formidable rotation come the regular season. But there is one more thing Boston should do to keep pace with New York: trade Clay Buchholz.

Having signed John Smoltz and Brady Penny, there is no room for Buchholz in the rotation this year. The club already is having issues finding a spot for young gun Justin Masterson, and Buchholz's shaky mechanics have no use in the bullpen. Should injuries occur, as they always seem to, Michael Bowden is ready to step up and take the hill for the big club.

Furthermore, Buchholz could be a centerpiece in a deal for a catcher or big bat for the lineup. Since the Sox missed out on Mark Teixeira, they are still looking for a big bat to replace the loss of Manny Ramirez, and Buchholz could be a big part of finding that missing piece. If Boston can use their young pitcher to land a catcher, like Texas' Jarrod Saltalamacchia, that would help immensely as well, for a roster that has only Josh Bard behind the plate.

A lineup of Ellsbury (CF), Pedroia (2B), Ortiz (DH), Lowell (3B), Youkilis (1B), Drew (RF), Bay (LF), Saltalamacchia (C), and Lowery (SS) would be quite formidable. With a rotation of Beckett, Matsuzaka, Lester, Penny, and Smoltz, the Sox would be one of the top teams in the AL this season.

All we know now though, is that this roller coaster will have gut-wrenching action right up until the end.