So, there was talk of the Sox getting Chone Figgins this offseason, or at least making a play for him. He’d fill in the gap at leadoff, and likely play an outfield position. But last week, Kenny Williams has hinted the Sox are bumping up against their budget for 2010, so Figgins was pretty much off the radar. If that’s the case, so is Johnny Damon.

And so might anyone else, if this quote from Jerry Reinsdorf is any indication:

“We signed our free agent already,” Reinsdorf says. “His name is Jake Peavy.”

Yeah, there you go. Add in Alex Rios’ gaudy contract to the mix here, too, and the Sox have already invested money in another “free agent,” they just did it before the season was up.

I suppose this doesn’t mean the Sox will stand idly by, though. They still could use another outfilelder, and perhaps a DH, now that Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye are gone. Williams is just going to have to get creative to fill those spots and keep the payroll close to where it is.