We know that more than $300 million of pitching found its way onto the disabled list last season. Injuries to pitchers devastated the Braves, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Indians, Tigers, Yankees, and Mariners, to name a few. And pitching depth elevated the Red Sox, Angels, Cubs, and Rays.

So when looking at all the fancy new lineups and new acquisitions, which teams did the best job of adding a cushion to their pitching staffs? Well, at the top of that list would be the Red Sox.

That was the consensus of five Baseball officials we asked.

The Sox added padding, if you will, in the form of John Smoltz, whom they likely will hold back until late May, knowing they have youngsters Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden ready to step in should there be an injury to Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, and/or Brad Penny.

They have Justin Masterson, who could protect them as a starter and a late-inning reliever. And general manager Theo Epstein added the same kind of padding by acquiring Wes Littleton from Texas, Ramon Ramirez from Kansas City, and free agent Takashi Saito.

"I think the Yankee staff is potentially more spectacular," said an American League West general manager, "but when you look at which staff is deeper? I'd say Boston.

"Sure, there's risk there in Penny, Smoltz, and Saito, but they don't need all three of those guys to come through. The Yankees are deep, too, but beyond their five starters - [CC] Sabathia, [A.J.] Burnett, [Chien-Ming] Wang, [Andy] Pettitte, and [Joba] Chamberlain - it drops off a little. They have Philip Hughes, which would allow them to drop Chamberlain to the bullpen, but Ian Kennedy isn't John Smoltz."

Other teams receiving high grades for pitching depth were the Giants, Mets, Rays, Angels, Twins, and Marlins.

"Listen, how often do you have the same five starters all year?" said the GM. "The team which can best replace the injuries will often win."