It’s December, 2005. Do you know where your infield is?

In a remarkable two-week span, the Red Sox made a series of moves that will completely change the infield for 2006. Jason Varitek will be back as catcher, but the captain’s return is about the only thing we’re sure of right now.

The infield transformation began Thanksgiving weekend, when Mike Lowell came to Boston in a seven-player deal with Florida. The defending Gold Glove third baseman will replace Bill Mueller, who is gone via free agency.

Continuing left-to-right, shortstop Edgar Renteria was traded to Atlanta on Thursday. Mark Loretta, acquired Wednesday for backup catcher Doug Mirabelli, will be the second baseman, replacing Tony Graffanino. Graffanino and first baseman Kevin Millar will follow free agency out of town, while first baseman John Olerud retired after 17 major-league seasons.

That leaves Lowell and Loretta as the only experienced major-league infielders on the roster. At this point, the Sox desperately need to find a shortstop, and will no doubt be looking for veteran help to compliment Kevin Youkilis, a second-year big leaguer that hasn’t played much first base.

There have been plenty of shortstop candidates discussed by now, most notably Miguel Tejada. The former American League MVP wants out of Baltimore, saying the Orioles haven’t done enough to build a contender around him. Not many teams could take on the remaining $48 million on his contract, but the Sox could – especially if they trade Manny Ramirez.

We’ll get to the outfield another day.

More likely Alex Gonzalez will come to Boston. The now-former Marlin is a slick-fielding shortstop with a little bit of pop, but won’t add much to the offense. Royce Clayton, no longer a young man at 36, is another possibility.

So is Pokey Reese, a Boston favorite in 2004 who didn’t play for Seattle last season because of an injury. His health is now a major concern. So is the health of another former Boston shortstop by the name of Nomar.

Truthfully, there is little or no chance that Garciaparra will return to Boston this winter, although he will land somewhere. Nomar’s baseball legacy is in peril, and he will sign somewhere for short money and produce again – just not in Boston (although, the way this off-season has gone, it would be wise not to be surprised by anything.)

A month ago, the Sox had a two-time Gold Glover winner at short (Renteria) and no place to play one of the top shortstop prospects in baseball (Hanley Ramirez, traded to Florida in the deal that brought Lowell and pitchers Josh Beckett and Guillermo Mota to Boston.) Now, they’ve got no one ready to play the position.

First base is also wide-open, and it’s hard to imagine Youkilis being the everyday man on the right corner come April. Toronto beat out Boston in the Lyle Overbay sweepstakes, taking away that option. Aubrey Huff is getting expensive for the Tampa Bay bean counters, and could be had for the right price.

The wild card in all of this is Manny. As we all know, he wants a trade, but the Sox haven’t been able to get anything near his value, yet. Not even close. That could change quickly, however, and a player like Troy Glaus could still wind up playing first in Boston.

More than ever, we’re reminded that modern fans should cheer for a team as opposed to its players. Those players aren’t likely to be around very long.

For a team that won the World Series just 14 months ago, the Sox are undergoing a serious overhaul. Get out your scorecards… it’ll be hard to remember who’s playing for the good guys next spring.

Lewiston native Tom Caron is a NESN studio host for Red Sox telecasts.