The season, mercifully, is over. The Red Sox finished 2014 with just 71 wins, 26 fewer than the previous season, and only two more than the miserable Bobby Valentine Summer of 2012.

We watched the disappointment, the steady parade of youth, and the weekend-long tribute to Derek Jeter (listen closely, that’s Bernie Williams still playing at Fenway.) Now we look to the future. How will Ben Cherington and his front office get this team back on track?

Here is one man’s plan – mine. While the Sox may not get the exact players mentioned here they need to fill in these holes to return to playoff contention in 2015.

Starting Rotation

It’s no surprise that Cherington’s biggest order of business is rebuilding the pitching staff. He traded away 80 percent of the team’s starting rotation in late July. After watching a host of young arms try to fill in the blanks it’s clear they need some veteran arms at the top of the rotation.

There are two ways to get those arms. Free-agent starters cost the most money, but you don’t have to give up any prospects to land them. Jon Lester, Max Scherzer and James Shields are the top names available. The Sox should open up the vault and land one of them as a top-of-the-rotation starter.

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That’s step one.

The next step is to land another big-time arm through a trade. Package four (or more) top prospects to bring home the likes of Cole Hamels, Johnny Cueto or Chris Sale. All are top pitchers, and all play for teams that need to rebuild. Landing a strong enough package from the Sox would allow them to do that.

That would put Clay Buchholz in the middle of the rotation, with Joe Kelly behind him. It would make for a very deep rotation. Take the best of the remaining young starters – or knuckleballer Steven Wright – as the fifth man in the starting staff.

Bullpen

Rubby De La Rosa and Brandon Workman won’t be in the running for that final starting spot. That’s because I want them pitching in relief. Both have shown better velocity and success in short relief appearances. De La Rosa could be the closer of the future, and with Koji Uehara no longer a sure thing the future could be now. Workman could be a power arm in the seventh or eighth inning, joining Junichi Tazawa and Edward Mujica as the foundation of that relief staff.

Andrew Miller tops the free-agent relief market, and has proven he can succeed both in Boston and in the heat of a playoff race. He would be the one big-money bullpen signing I’d bring in. Fill out the rest of the bullpen with a long man and a lefty specialist. Wright (if he’s not a starter) could be the former with Craig Breslow or Tommy Layne the latter.

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Lineup

Here’s where it gets trickier. It’s clear the Sox need another bat in the middle of the lineup. We’ve been dreaming about Giancarlo Stanton forever, and now is the time to bring him in. Put together a package centered around Mookie Betts to land the slugging outfielder. There’s no doubt Betts is going to be a star, but you need to give up talent to get talent. The Sox need Stanton’s talents in the heart of the lineup.

Stanton would be a great fit in right field if Yeonis Cespedes is still on the roster. Cespedes is a better fit in left. Rusney Castillo has shown some pop and should be the center fielder. Shane Victorino and Daniel Nava round out the outfield options.

In the infield, it might be time to trade Mike Napoli. He would have a lot of value as a power hitter without much money remaining on his contract. That would open the door for Allen Craig to play first base. He hasn’t performed well with the Sox, but he has too good a recent track record to move away from.

Dustin Pedroia will be back at second base, and Xander Bogaerts used September to remind us about his bright future. The only problem here is that both are right handed.

That’s why the Sox need to make a move for a left-handed hitting third baseman. Pablo Sandoval will be a free agent and adds a little pop from the left side. He’s got a championship pedigree with the San Francisco Giants and would be a great veteran addition.

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Christian Vazquez is going to be the starting catcher for Boston next season. He could use a veteran backup, whether it’s David Ross or someone else.

These moves leave players like Betts, Garin Cecchini, Blake Swihart and Jackie Bradley, Jr., available in trades, along with pitchers Anthony Ranaudo, Matt Barnes, and even Henry Owens (who I would only include in a mega-deal for Stanton or someone similar.)

It should not take that many moves to get where they need to be. The Sox did it after the 2012 season, signing a half-dozen free agents and winning the World Series.

This might not be the blueprint to an immediate championship, but it should get them back into contention.

After this season, that sounds pretty good to me.

Tom Caron is the studio host for Red Sox broadcast on NESN. His column appears in the Portland Press Herald on Tuesdays.


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