Red Sox ace Beckett is $68-million man

The Red Sox appear to have the top of their rotation set for the next five years. The rest of it is in pretty good shape, too.

The Red Sox agreed on Monday to a $68 million, four-year contract extension with No 1 starter Josh Beckett, a deal that figures to keep him in Boston pitching alongside free agent acquisition John Lackey through 2014. Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz are also under the team's control for five more seasons.

"It's hard to have an elite organization without excellent starting pitching," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said. "When you have that starting pitching, you don't want to let it get away. It's hard to acquire in free agency. It's hard to acquire in trades. And it's hard to draft and develop this kind of starting pitching. ... That's the biggest building block on which we can go about finishing off the rest of the club."