The biggest question currently on the minds of Boston Red Sox fans is who ownership is going to pick to run the front office after the team fired Chaim Bloom. That is completely fair and also something that doesn't sound like it will be resolved for a while. Speculation on Bloom's replacement is already running rampant, but it does sound like Brian O'Halloran will be calling the shots in the short term.
Once the Red Sox have someone running point in their front office, there is then the question of what Boston is going to do this offseason. This team certainly doesn't feel like it is THAT far away from contending, but it is also unclear how much ownership is willing to invest in payroll going forward. Let's take a gander at the payroll picture for the Red Sox next season (or as least as much as we know so far).
Current projected 2024 Boston Red Sox payroll
All Red Sox payroll figures for the purposes of this have been pulled from Spotrac and are subject to change. Sometimes unknown incentives or details of contracts become public knowledge and can mess with the payroll along with options, buyouts, arbitration figures, and not tendering contracts to arbitration-eligible players. This is an initial glance, not the final numbers. One important figure to keep in mind is the luxury tax threshold which will be $237 million in 2024.
Total projected 2024 payroll: $146,158,181
Projected luxury tax payroll: $159,780,185
Variable costs: It is a little tricky to give an exact number on how much the Red Sox are set to spend this far out because they do have a couple club options they have to make decisions on as well as some arbitration eligible players whose costs are not certain. Corey Kluber has an $11 million club options which the team probably shouldn't pick up given all the uncertainty with his health. Joely Rodriguez also has a club option at $4.25 million which is just cheap enough to make it likely that Boston keeps him around assuming his ailing hip isn't a long-term concern.
As for the arbitration eligible players, the headliners of that group are Alex Verdugo and Nick Pivetta. Both players are hitting their last year of arbitration eligibility and are likely to get raises with Verdugo the most likely to get the most.
How Boston's current payroll projections could effect them this offseason
It is a little jarring to see how little the Red Sox have tied up next season, but that is obviously a symptom of the previous front office's attempts to reset luxury tax penalties. On the surface, the Red Sox seemingly have a ton of space to work with even if they don't want to eclipse the $237 million luxury tax threshold next season. They do have some holes on the roster to fill with Adam Duvall and James Paxton potentially leaving and the rotation still kind of a mess, but if Boston wants to go after a big name, affording one shouldn't be a problem.
However, the biggest question is how much the powers that be want to actually invest next season. If this Red Sox team had one or two more decent starting pitchers this season, they are probably a playoff team so it may not take that much to get them over the hump. That said, ownership isn't throwing money around (which is exactly why they hired Bloom in the first place) and it remains an open question as to whether or not they have any designs on being aggressive spenders in the near future.