The Red Sox have their star pitcher from the land of the rising sun and for about $105 million, including what Boston paid the Japanese team for negotiating rights, they have a No. 3 starter.

He may become more than that once he has actually thrown a pitch in the majors, but for now he will begin the spring in the third spot.

The next time we hear the whines from major league owners about the cost of doing business and how overpaid the players are, we will take them back to the free agent signings for 2007.

The money grab for players is not yet done. Free agents and players signing new deals with their current clubs will slot themselves into the lucrative environment that came about since the end of last season.

Not only have pitchers been bathed in greenbacks, but everyday players such as shortstop Julio Lugo and second baseman Marcus Giles are finding rarified money air.

GMs and owners say the reason is there are so few quality players out there and everyone is looking for the same help in pitching, power bats, and middle-of-the-defense gloves.

We have gone from the $100 million team payroll to the $150 million free-agent signing year.

What this tells you first is buy a bat and ball for that young person in your life. Don’t ask Santa to bring it, he will want a cut of the deal down the line.

Second, teams are making so much money that these signings are well within the realm of what they can afford and still walk to the bank with cash falling out of their armpits.

No team has more of that dough falling about them than the Sox.

The idea that greater parity would come from the salary cap tax by taking from the rich teams who overspent and giving to the less financed isn’t working.

The rich still get richer. The difference between the Sox/Yankees and Kansas City/Pittsburgh haves and have-nots only grows.

The fact is that teams which had the money in the first place can spend more because they are going to make even more off their player investments.

Be assured that after this round of signings, there will be much heard from the have-nots during the coming season. The salary cap is not high enough or may simply not be the answer.

The franchises that begin the season guaranteed of having a losing record have little room to financially move. The idea that you can grow a team with a solid farm system becomes less and less likely as free agents are consumed by the rich teams each year to make them better.

By the time a home-built team is ready to win some games, the players are free agents and gone.

The rich have shown no empathy in their giving to the less successful. There is no reason to believe that will change.

Unless Santa has some 95 mph arms and big bats in his bag, Christmas will be a slow season for the needy of MLB.

Old Town native Gary Thorne is an ESPN and ABC sportscaster.