The disastrous effect of big contracts
Sale has spent significant time on the injured list in his career. Yes, Sale did strike out 218 batters, joining the 200+ club for the seventh year in a row, but it came at a disastrous cost.
The Red Sox will owe Eovaldi and Sale a combined $47 million annually in each of the next three seasons. If we want to throw in David Price’s albatross contract as well, the Sox will owe the trio $78 million in 2020, $79 million in 2021, & $79 million once again in 2022. Both the Eovaldi and Price contracts will then be off the books in 2023.
Some have to wonder though, as Price spent time with Dombrowski in Detroit, was signing the lefty to the mega-deal something he did because he felt comfortable with him then? Familiar faces cast less doubt but age isn’t just a number. As one gets older, their ability begins to show signs of decline. Athletes are not like wine, they don’t get better with time. The new GM of the Red Sox will have to know that paying players based on their past accomplishments is not going to bode well for the future.
The Red Sox have major contracts coming up, including one for one of game’s best in Mookie Betts. Betts will undoubtedly shatter the arbitration number in his final year before having the opportunity to sign a mega-contract of his own. The only other player to worry about regarding big contracts is Rafael Devers, who the team won’t have to worry about until after 2023 when most of the major contracts are off the books.