Are Red Sox the fiscally positioning themselves for the 2023 season?

Is the 2022 season a Red Sox fiscal bridge year?

How do the Red Sox get rid of players they don’t want? The players could have deteriorating skills, be a pain in the arse, or have burdensome contracts. In the instance of David Price, all three may apply, and the methodology was to find a willing trade partner and absorb dead money.

Red Sox history is littered with the names and numbers of those departed, such as Rusney Castillo, Allen Craig, and Carl Crawford. I would add more names but I try to limit word counts on articles. So just who needs to be cut from the herd? The two-prong approach is who could go this season and what does the future (2023-2024) hold?

Perusing the Red Sox payroll, the top wage earner and earning an ambiguous term is lefty Chris Sale. Sale’s luxury tax kiss is $25.6 MM, and Sale is not going anywhere. Since his compensation is in the ace territory, Sale has a lot to prove, and it could be a win-win situation for the Red Sox.

A productive Sale and Boston will have an elite hurler capable of stopping slumps and creating a fear factor for the opposing offense. Sale also has an opt-out after 2022, and a stellar season could have Sale testing the markets. If Sale sinks and that rhymes with stinks welcome to the dead money club. Look elsewhere for savings for now or the future.

Nathan Eovaldi and J.D. Martinez are both in their last contract year, which is $37 MM towards the LT. Neither has a no-trade clause embedded in the fine print, which makes a deal always possible. I would expect Boston to ride both contracts out unless a quality offer(s) arrive and Boston is muddling along at a sub .500 pace.

The Xander Bogaerts situation has created much internet ink, and XB’s smart move would be to opt-out after 2022. Of course, the possible clinker is production. Bogaerts will have to ring up his usual hefty numbers, but the $20 MM off the books is potentially there.

The above mentioned are the big numbers on the current payroll. In a perfect fiscal storm, all could be removed. Then there is the process of paying for those deep into arbitration, most notably Rafael Devers, and a potential $300 MM contract that I would avoid, like a visit from my sister-in-law.

The who and now is essentially small potatoes in baseball financial terms except for Jackie Bradley Jr. and Matt Barnes. JBJ is supposed to contribute to the stabilization of the defense, and the Red Sox are doling out $12 MM for 2022-2023 for that privilege, and I would expect Bradley to be secure for this season. Now to the love-hate player.

Barnes succeeded beyond expectations in the first half of 2021 and was rewarded with a two-year, $18.75 MM deal, and when the ink dried, Barnes went into a pitching funk and returned to being Mr. Inconsisitent. The Red Sox should explore finding a Saint to take on that contract with the value of pitching – even mediocre pitching; there must be a party somewhere willing to do business. A swap not for another team’s problem but a prospect or two.

Moving Barnes could allow some 2022 wiggle room, and I am sure valued commentator KD17 can break it down to the penny. That is the now, but the real future is 2023 and 2024 when the Red Sox could see some hefty obligations vanish.

The Chaim Bloom method? At this point, it is an unknown but is tracking in that direction. Baseball on the cheap with selective visits to the scrap pile, a productive minor league system, and an aversion to long-term contracts. Boston is positioning itself to the new LT in the eventuality of a signed collective bargaining agreement. Is 2022 a fiscal bridge year?

I don’t discount old habits surfacing, which would mean dabbling again in the rarified atmosphere of long-term and burdensome contracts. That worked in the past despite being burned. Still – for this season – I have to wonder why James Paxton?

Boston has needs, and they have been tossed around constantly this offseason, but always is the specter of the ominous LT. This fiscal Rubicon is one management is reluctant to cross at this point, but 2023 may see a swing in the other direction. It is a fun topic for discussion since management is holding and not showing their cards. Opinions and emotions have covered the offseason landscape.