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There are a number of other lower ceiling prospects that could be a factor like Jeff Marquez, Jack Egbert and Brian Omogrosso as well as some lower level guys that have yet to truly dominate. There are too many to discuss in this article.
The bullpen
I won't guess who will fill out the pen three years into the future, as there is far too much turnover in those roles to do it accurately. This is especially true since the Sox only late-inning reliever that is under 30 is Bobby Jenks.
I'll start by discussing Jenks. While I would think the Sox will try to keep him, he's about to become a lot more expensive. He already signed a $5.6 million deal this season to avoid arbitration, and that number is not likely to go down the next two seasons.
He'll also be a free agent in 2012, where he could get a multi-year deal in the $10 million range. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that the Sox will try to trade him for some elite prospects in the next year or two, especially if the team starts to struggle. However, it wouldn't surprise me if they came to terms on a long-term extension either.
Some of the spots will likely be filled by youngsters that were mentioned above, and there will certainly be some acquisitions as well.
Wildcard—Will they acquire an ace?
As I mentioned earlier, the Sox already tried to acquire Peavy from San Diego. I don't think that will be their last attempt at acquiring an elite starter.
The Sox have numerous large contracts expiring over the next few years, including those of Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome and Jose Contreras this off-season. They also have Floyd and Danks under their control for relatively low prices for the next several years.
It seems that they should have a fair amount of payroll flexibility in the coming years, which could allow them to add an impact player. I would guess that they will target a high-end right handed reliever given that Buehrle and Danks are both lefties as well as their two best in-house options to fill the back end of their rotation.
Overall, the Sox have a very nice core of pitching that gives them an awful lot of flexibility in building their roster. Even with an offense that has struggled most of the year, the Sox have remained competitive because of the production from their starters and their multitude of options in the bullpen.
They're one of only a handful of teams that don't desperately need to add a high-end starter to be competitive.
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