This story was excerpted from Ian Browne’s Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

If Nathan Eovaldi had accepted the $19.65 million qualifying offer that was extended to him last week, the Red Sox would have had a proven leader and postseason performer back in the fold for next season.

They also would have had a bit more clarity for their rotation in 2023.

While the Sox still could bring back Eovaldi, who rejected his qualifying offer on Tuesday, on a multiyear deal, the rotation has more questions than answers at this point.

Can Chris Sale at last stay healthy, and if so, how many innings will he be asked to provide after having such a light workload over the past three seasons?

Ditto for James Paxton, the veteran lefty who exercised his $4 million player option last week.

Will Nick Pivetta be more consistent? While his durability has been an asset for Boston over the last two years, his inconsistency has been perplexing. Pivetta struggled mightily against division foes in 2022, and that will have to change for the righty be as valuable as the club needs him to be.

How good can Garrett Whitlock be as a starter? At last week’s GM Meetings, general manager Brian O’Halloran told reporters that Whitlock has been informed the expectation will be for him to start in 2023. While Whitlock has dominated as a reliever during the first two years of his career, the ramp on him as a starter -- he made nine starts last season -- hasn’t been long enough to know what he is capable of in that role.

How quickly will Brayan Bello make the leap? Just about everyone was impressed by Bello’s arsenal after he got his first taste of the Majors. He finished strong, but his overall numbers (2-8, 4.71 ERA in 13 appearances) make it unclear if he’s ready to hit the ground running. Depending on what chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom does this offseason, there’s a chance Bello starts the season in Triple-A so he can get more seasoning.

Could the Red Sox sign Japanese ace Kodai Senga? It's possible that they will make a big splash in international waters. Senga is a free agent and is making the rounds in the United States visiting with teams. Daisuke Matsuzaka, Koji Uehara, Hideki Okajima and others have expressed in the past that Boston is a comfortable market for Japanese players, both personally and professionally.

“Super talented, athletic, power stuff,” Bloom said of Senga at the GM Meetings. “Just a really impressive arm.”