The Boston Red Sox are in the fiscal catbird seat to quote Red Barber. A franchise that is among the baseball fiscal upper crust that can sustain payroll expansion, bad contracts, and resign talent.
Income inequity is a political buzzword that has been surfacing quite often and baseball is certainly not exempt since it has income inequity. The inequity in baseball is personified by the haves and the have not’s that comprise the enclave of major league baseball. Thirty franchises with a distinct approach to their own business model.
For the fans of the Boston Red Sox we are in a fiscal sweet spot being among the handful of teams that can carry substantial payroll, dead money, tinker with the luxury tax, spend on development and be among the franchise fiscal elite.
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Boston has a steady stream of cash with a loyal fan base, advertising money flows, NESN and media generate their abundant share and that puts the Red Sox in the analogy of being the Bill Gates, Waltons or Warren Buffett of the baseball upper crust. To quote Mel Brooks – “It’s good to be king.”
Then you have “The Other’s.”
Every season someone becomes available and it is invariably the dollars that become an issue. The latest is the ongoing situation of Giancarlo Stanton who hammered 59 home runs. His employer – the Marlins – are on the fiscal hook for $295 Million. The contract runs well into the next decade and the cash flow in Miami dictates that Stanton (and others) must go.
Boston is often mentioned as a destination for a potential Stanton landing since Boston has a need for his bat and they have recently decreed a willingness by ownership to spend without the primal fear of the luxury tax. Others mention in the circus for Stanton are the who’s who of baseball cash – the usual suspects when talent becomes available.
The groundwork is already being set for the next wave of exotic – meaning young and talented – free agents. The 2018 offseason should have a rather enticing collection available on the auction block. That is the way the system works and invariably it will not be the Miami’s of the baseball world offering Bryce Harper a Stanton like contract, but Boston could or New York or the Cubs and the Dodgers to mention just a few.
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Boston is king or at least a significant part of the fiscal nobility. The power of money is apparent when you look at a team that recently won a World Series – the Kansas City Royals. The Royals are being picked clean by the free agent hyenas of baseball as far too many of their most talented have become available. The Royals story has been repeated each season as the fiscal realities of “small market” drive payroll decisions.
Boston can absorb a bad contract or even multiple contracts. Pablo Sandoval and Rusney Castillo represent a $120 Million on just two players. The mindset among fans is usually a “just sign them” when a prospective free agent surfaces that provide a need – think Eduardo Nunez.
When the fiscal dust settles the Red Sox will have either signed an expensive trinket or acquired one in a salary dump – maybe both will come into play. But the real issue is one of continued success and Boston has had that. The franchise this century has been competitive with an ownership willing to spend. Spend wisely may certainly be open to scrutiny.
Next: FanSided MLB Winter Meetings
When the season starts the Red Sox will undoubtedly be a favorite to make the playoffs and even advance to the World Series. As fans, we can just continue to enjoy the ride and pay for it.