FORT MYERS, Fla. – It’s the first weekend of workouts for pitchers and catchers here on the Gulf Coast. It’s also the first time in eight years that workouts are under way without Pedro Martinez on the Red Sox roster.

How the Sox fill the void left behind by Martinez could be the biggest storyline of the season for the defending World Champs.

“We have a tremendous amount of work to do,” said catcher (and captain) Jason Varitek. “You can’t replace Pedro Martinez.”

No, you can’t, but someone will be taking his place in the rotation.

Who is the team’s number two starter? Right now, it could be Matt Clement. He’ll make the move to the American League after six seasons in the National League. He’s got good stuff and great potential, but only two winning seasons in his career.

Clement has good movement on his fastball, and a nasty slider. He’s aggressive on the mound and has never been on the disabled list. He also has had control problems

Four years ago, he set a San Diego team record for walks, wild pitches, and hit batters. He knows he needs to improve his command to be successful.

“I think (I need) better command of my stuff,” he said. “I have the movement I want, I have the pitches. It’s just fine tuning them and putting them in the right spots more often than not.”

He’ll be facing new hitters in a new league, on a new team that is getting to know him.

“I think we’re all betting he has the right makeup or he wouldn’t be here,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “Our guys do a pretty good job signing people. He’ll be OK. If we score eight runs a game and he gives up three or four a game, his mental makeup is going to be just fine.”

Last season, Martinez and Derek Lowe combined for 30 wins and 400 innings. Now, both are gone. In 2004, Clement and David Wells combined for 377 innings. Both Clement (3.68) and Wells (3.77) had lower ERAs than Martinez (3.90) and Lowe (5.42). After playing for National League teams that struggled to score runs, Clement and Wells should win more games for Boston.

“I’d imagine that the history of this offense is that they’re going to score a lot of runs,” said Clement, “and hopefully that’s the case, but I’m not going to make too big an issue about the run support thing.”

The Sox are hoping to get big things from Clement. They believe they are getting him at the right time – just before his career takes off. With Varitek behind the plate, they hope he’ll master his stuff and harness his potential.

Will that make him the number two starter? Maybe. Wells could end up with that title before too long. Once the season starts, it doesn’t matter who pitches when. What matters is what those pitchers do when it’s their turn to take the mound.

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