Accentuate the Red Sox positive for 2016
By Rick McNair
Show me the money
Aug 12, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Hanley Ramirez (13) looks on from the dugout during the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
There will be not $250 a plate benefits for this ownership as they have generated significant cash flow with each year. Now a luxury tax is just a fiscal inconvenience and free agent expenditures can just go on with the next potential prize a top of the line free agent pitcher. The constant for the last twelve years is one of the top-tier payrolls in baseball.
Money allows mistakes to be made and simply absorbed as the penalty for bad business decisions such as Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. While some teams have an annual fire sale of jettisoning potential free agents the Red Sox can just relax and examine the market.
Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino became the latest mid-season additions to the dead money pool. The past is checkered with similar payouts – is Julio Lugo and Edgar Renteria still being paid? So the money-go-round will continue and the bill will be willingly paid by RSN.
The Red Sox fans can enjoy the fact that we are rarely looted. I remembered talking to a Royals fan last season in KC who said that Red Sox fans often view a road trip as a scouting journey for potential free agents. The Red Sox have the cash to address issues and that is a big divider in the current world of baseball.
Sources: Baseball-reference/Sox Prospects/ESPN