So Pablo Sandoval’s agent is saying he wants a six-year contract.

Will the Red Sox bite?

Or is Chase Headley a possibility?

What about plan C?

Well, we don’t know if Boston has a Plan C for third base, but is it conceivable the Red Sox will play with the hand they have and use their payroll flexibility on pitchers, either through free agency (Jon Lester), a trade (Cole Hamels) or both?

When we wrote about Sandoval last week, one alert reader emailed in, asking about Brock Holt.

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Oh, him.

Holt became one of the pleasant surprises of a bad news season, manning several positions while supplying a dependable option as a leadoff hitter. He faded a little but still batted .281 with a .711 OPS in 106 games before his season ended in early September because of a concussion.

Holt does not supply the power Boston wants (he had four homers last year), and 106 games might not be enough to bank on.

But if Sandoval or Headley don’t work out, where would the Red Sox turn?

How about this for a lineup:

Mookie Betts, RF

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 Brock Holt, 3B

 Dustin Pedroia, 2B

 David Ortiz, DH

 Yoenis Cespedes, LF

 Mike Napoli, 1B

 Xander Bogaerts, SS

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 Rusney Castillo, CF

Christian Vazquez, C

Maybe the above won’t excite the fan base after a flat 2014, but the 2013 lineup did not generate much of a buzz following the disaster of 2012.

You can argue that Holt is a valuable utility player, but the counter argument is that if his bat is as hot as it was this past season, he needs to be in the lineup every day.

And if there is an injury at another position (except catcher), Holt can slide in, and the Red Sox can call up a third baseman (assuming Will Middlebrooks and/or Garin Cecchini are still in Pawtucket).

Is this a gamble? Sure. But so is handing out long-term contracts.

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And the more necessary gamble is to bring in pitching.

SPEAKING OF GAMBLES with pitchers, former Portland Press Herald writer Barry Svrluga wrote a stellar article for the Washington Post this past week looking at the last 14 pitchers who have signed $100 million contracts.

Not surprisingly, none of the pitchers have stood out for the length of their contract – either losing their effectiveness or getting injured (or both).

Four pitchers are doing well but are early in their contracts – Clayton Kershaw (six years left on a $215 million contract), Felix Hernandez (five years left on $175 million deal), Hamels (four years left on $144 million contract), and Zack Greinke (four years left after signing for $147 million).

One sign of trouble comes from Detroit, where Justin Verlander had a 4.54 ERA in the second season of a seven-year, $180 million contract.

SEVEN PLAYERS WHO ended the 2014 season with the Portland Sea Dogs are now free agents – pitchers Pete Ruiz and Wilfredo Boscan; catcher Carson Blair; infielders Stefan Welch, Ryan Dent and Heiker Meneses; and outfielder Pete Hissey. Former Sea Dogs Jose Valdez and Derrik Gibson, who reached Pawtucket last year, are also free agents.

THREE MONTHS and 11 days from now, Red Sox pitchers and catchers will report to Fort Myers, Florida.

 


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