So long as his 2011 season with the Giants was an aberration, the Red Sox acquired a player who fits their roster in a number of ways by agreeing (according to multiple major league sources) with outfielder Cody Ross to a one-year, $3 million deal that also includes what one source characterized as high-level performance bonuses.

From the beginning of the offseason, the Sox had said that they wanted to find a right-handed outfield bat. In Ross, the team got just that, a player who has been one of the top hitters in the majors against left-handed pitchers over the last five seasons.

Since 2007, there are 226 players who have had at least 500 plate appearances against left-handers. Ross is hitting .288 with a .358 OBP and .558 slugging mark against them. That slugging percentage ranks 11th in the majors -- just ahead of Kevin Youkilis -- against left-handers in that time. He’s 22nd in OPS (.916) against lefties over that span. In a lineup that skews left-handed, he represents the Jed Lowrie-type option who can pulverize left-handed pitching. 

All of that said, Ross suffered through a significantly down year against lefties in 2011, hitting them at a .234/.336/.362/.698 clip (and .240/.325/.405/.730 overall). While the natural inclination would be to view that as one-year randomness, the fact that Ross saw his strikeout rate against lefties increase from once per every 5.8 plate appearances through 2010 to once every 4.8 plate appearances in 2011 offers a small red flag.

At the same time, Ross spent last year with the Giants in a home ballpark that tends to be hostile to right-handed power. In Fenway Park, he'll find the dimensions far more inviting for a player whose power is primarily to the left side of the field (11 of Ross' 14 homers last year were to left).

So long as 2011 was a temporary departure for Ross, he will help give the Sox a formidable lineup against lefties. The team will be able to feature an offense that includes Dustin Pedroia, Youkilis, Ross, Kelly Shoppach, Mike Aviles and perhaps Darnell McDonald against left-handed pitchers, along with three left-handed hitters (Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury) who are coming off of excellent 2011 seasons against southpaws.

At the least, Ross will be a platoon contributor who will also be an everyday outfielder until Carl Crawford returns from his wrist surgery. His addition will ease any pressure to rush the leftfielder back into the lineup. After all, even though Ross has done most of his damage against lefties, he’s been adequate against righties as well, hitting .253/.313/.414/.727 against them (close to the .241/.322/.418/.740 line he posted against righties last year).

When Crawford returns, it remains to be seen whether Ross will serve primarily as a platoon player (collaborating with the left-handed Ryan Sweeney in rightfield) or if he will assume a more regular role than that. Ross is likely to be comfortable with whatever role he is assigned, given his reputation as a tremendous clubhouse guy.

The 31-year-old also is someone who thrived under the spotlight of postseason baseball in 2010, when he was named NLCS MVP. In the process, he offered a suggestion that he will remain unfazed by his playing environment.

“It's kind of crazy the way my career has kind of ended up, starting off with the Tigers and then moving to the Dodgers and the Reds and the Marlins and now I'm [with the Giants],” he noted at the time. “I wouldn't change any of that, because I think that's kind of made me the person that I am today. Never give up. Try to play as hard as I can every single day for whether it's in front of a thousand fans or in front of 44,000. So that's just me and that's who I'll continue to be for the remainder of my career.”

The Sox’ signing of Ross was a direct result of the financial flexibility created by dealing shortstop Marco Scutaro to the Rockies. In parting with Scutaro, the Sox freed approximately $7.67 million in payroll as calculated for luxury tax purposes. Ross uses a chunk -- but not all -- of that money.

That being the case, according to a team source, the Sox still have money left in their budget to pursue a starting pitcher, whether through free agency or the trade market. Roy Oswalt remains available and in search of a one-year deal, reportedly in the $8 million range. A trade candidate such as White Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd (who will earn $7 million next year but whose four-year, $15.5 million deal means he represents just a $3.875 million salary for luxury tax purposes) would certainly fit the team’s budget.

That said, according to that same team source, while the Sox have the ability to pursue a starter, the team doesn’t feel that it necessarily has to do so at this point. Conceivably, the team could more or less stand pat and then use its remaining financial flexibility from the Scutaro trade as something of a war chest to address needs in the trade market as the season unfolds.

Taking such an approach would allow the team to see the early results of the conversion experiment with Daniel Bard and/or Alfredo Aceves, and to see whether a pitcher like Felix Doubront or Andrew Miller was able to take a step forward in his career, to determine whether any of the pitchers signed to minor league deals (Aaron Cook, Vicente Padilla, Carlos Silva) was ready to bounceback to prior career heights and to gauge whether (and when) Daisuke Matsuzaka might prove a useful starter in his comeback from Tommy John surgery.

All of that being the case, the Sox feel that they now have the flexibility to add to their roster based on opportunity rather than necessity.