But the Red Sox need pitching, so the G.M.-by-committee has apparently agreed to ship highly regarded shortstop prospect Hanley Ramirez, right-handed pitching prospect Anibal Sanchez and the proverbial player to be named to the Marlins for Beckett and Lowell.

Lowell isn’t nearly as obvious. The Red Sox have a third-base prospect, Kevin Youkilis, who’s highly regarded but may not be ready for full-time duty in the pressure cooker of Red Sox baseball. But Lowell, despite winning a Gold Glove this year, hit just .236 on the season with eight homers and 58 RBIs, which are A-Rod numbers only when A-Rod is hitting in the playoffs. Plus, he’s got $18 million coming to him over the next two years.

How much the Red Sox spend on third basemen who may be over the hill isn’t my problem, and no fan should every worry about his team’s payroll. Boston has money and the team isn’t afraid to spend it. Plus, if the Sox can move Manny Ramirez, they’ll save whatever part of his $20 million salary the team that takes him is willing to pay.

But whoever takes the G.M. job is going to be given a budget, and, if the committee keeps buying players, it’s going to affect that budget and what the new G.M. can do.

Again, there’s not much choice. In addition to the reported trade, the Red Sox are also said to be talking to San Diego about trading David Wells for outfielder Dave Roberts. They may also be interested in free agent Marlin pitcher A.J. Burnett.

These aren’t necessarily bad moves. They are, in fact, very obvious moves, the kind of moves that rotisserie league G.M.s make all the time, the kind that fuels talk radio through another New England winter.

But are they the moves a G.M. with an idea of what he wants a team to be would make? Is there an overall concept behind the deals or is it just grabbing whatever’s on the shelves before somebody else beats them to it?

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Epstein had a well-defined concept of how he wanted to build a team. It worked spectacularly in 2004 and faltered this year. But he didn’t believe in spending money just because he had it or in grabbing the biggest names, like Team Steinbrenner likes to do. And despite having the second-highest payroll in the game, the Red Sox’s income stream is limited by the tiny size of their park. There is a limit to what they can spend, and they’re bumping against it.

One would have thought that Lucchino would have had a G.M. by now, given all that’s at stake. The very fact he doesn’t is an indication that Lucchino likes playing G.M. himself, which is said to be a reason Epstein left the only job he ever wanted.

It could all work out. But it’s still a very large ship maneuvering without one steady hand on the helm. And that’s a dangerous way to do business.

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