Ben Cherington had a rough first year as general manager of the Red Sox.

The team lost more games than they have in decades. The hiring of Bobby Valentine was a disaster, as were the trades of Jed Lowrie, Josh Reddick and Kevin Youkilis.

However, Cherington cleaned his slate by trading the huge contracts of Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett to the Dodgers in August. The move cleared $58 million in payroll for 2013 alone.

His second year with Boston will be defined by what he does with Jacoby Ellsbury.

Ellsbury will be a free agent in 2013 and is represented by Scott Boras. The Red Sox have a number of holes, which could lead Cherington to shop Ellsbury in a trade.