The Purple Sox made waves on Saturday afternoon, buying and selling seven-time All-Star and 2018 World Sequence champion Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves in trade for younger infielder Vaughn Grissom.
Boston wanted a second baseman, and Grissom can fill that function straight away — and probably for years to return. Nonetheless, as proficient as Grissom very nicely could also be, it’s arduous to not view the commerce as one thing of a wage dump for the Purple Sox.
Though Sale has spent important time on the injured record over the previous a number of years, he has flashed nice stuff when wholesome, and the Purple Sox want all of the upside they’ll get in the event that they’re going to compete within the fearsome AL East.
By buying and selling the veteran starter to the Braves, together with $17M in money, the Purple Sox lowered their whole payroll commitments by $10.5M and their luxurious tax payroll by roughly $7M for 2024 (per Roster Useful resource).
This isn’t the one commerce chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has made to lower payroll this winter. He flipped Luis Urías to the Mariners simply earlier than the non-tender deadline, sacrificing the infielder’s upside to keep away from his estimated $4.7M arbitration wage. He additionally dealt Alex Verdugo to the Yankees and primarily changed him with former Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill, saving an estimated $3.7M within the course of.
These sound like comparatively inconsequential numbers for a large-market workforce like Boston, however for what it’s price, the cash the workforce saved by buying and selling Urías, Verdugo, and Sale provides as much as slightly below $19M, and newly signed starter Lucas Giolito will earn $18M in 2024.
Certainly, whereas the Purple Sox usually run one of many increased payrolls within the sport, it appears they’ll be working underneath a tighter price range this offseason. As reported by Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, the workforce has knowledgeable no less than one free agent that they should “shed extra payroll” earlier than they’ll pursue him “as aggressively as they wish to.”
The Purple Sox have shed considerably extra payroll than they’ve added this winter. Along with their numerous trades, the workforce let Justin Turner, Corey Kluber, Adam Duvall, James Paxton and Joely Rodríguez attain free company. These 5 accounted for simply over $34M in luxurious tax payroll final season.
Boston’s estimated luxurious tax payroll now sits under $200M for the primary time since 2020. That being the case, it’s quite shocking to listen to that possession is tightening the purse strings. In spite of everything, it wasn’t so way back that chairman Tom Werner claimed the workforce could be aggressive in 2024, vowing to go “full throttle in each potential manner,” per Sean McAdam of MassLive.com.
After all, this rumor could also be little greater than a negotiation tactic, with the Purple Sox enjoying arduous to get to drive down a free-agent goal’s worth. Nonetheless, if Breslow is severe about lowering payroll, he would possibly look to deal Kenley Jansen or Chris Martin within the coming weeks.
The veteran relievers are set to hit free company following the 2024 season, they usually’d certainly draw loads of curiosity on the buying and selling block.
Jansen, who’s owed $16M subsequent 12 months, made his fourth profession All-Star workforce final season, whereas Martin, who is about to make $9.5M, led certified MLB relievers in ERA. Shedding Jansen or Martin could be a troublesome blow for Boston’s bullpen, however one might argue the Purple Sox could be promoting excessive on both arm.
Jansen might be 36 subsequent season, and he’s now not the dominant nearer he as soon as was. In the meantime, Martin might be 37, and it’s extremely unlikely he’ll have the ability to keep an ERA under 2.00.
Breslow might additionally dangle Nick Pivetta, who is about to earn roughly $6.9M in his closing 12 months of arbitration eligibility, however then once more, the workforce’s rotation appears to be like skinny sufficient as it’s.
Lastly, the chief baseball officer would certainly want to be freed of the $95M remaining on Trevor Story’s contract, nevertheless it’s arduous to think about the Purple Sox might discover a commerce companion keen to tackle the injury-prone shortstop.
It also needs to be stated that it’s unclear which participant Cotillo’s report refers to, because the Purple Sox has been related with no scarcity of prime free brokers. The record consists of frontline beginning pitchers Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, high-end relievers Jordan Hicks and Robert Stephenson and slugging outfielder Teoscar Hernández.
All 5 of these gamers might be rewarded handsomely this winter. Maybe the Purple Sox would wish to shed payroll earlier than signing any of those gamers, nevertheless it’s potential they might solely want to chop again to signal Snell or Montgomery to a nine-figure deal.
