After the news broke that J.D. Martinez was not going to opt out of his current deal this time around, the daunting task of cutting the salary down became more tricky. With fans split on keeping Mookie Betts, it remains to be seen how Chaim Bloom and the front office will fix the salary cap dilemma.
Currently, with arbitration estimates and Martinez opting in, the Boston Red Sox sit on a $235 million cap hit. That’s a big distance from the goal of $208 million. The team did shave off $10 million by letting Andrew Cashner walk.
The new projection would be around $225 million.
Another way to efficiently cut salary would be to invest in Dustin Pedroia’s retirement. It really shouldn’t surprise anyone at this point if he actually calls it quits this offseason. This move would go a long way into cutting the salary, as the team owes him $13 million for 2020. This move alone would bring them down to $212 million.
The Texas Rangers have been knocking at the door about starting pitching. With Rick Porcello good as gone, that leaves Nathan Eovaldi, David Price, and Chris Sale as the only three starters with big contracts in the rotation. The team’s interest is rumored to be centered around David Price and Chris Sale, and not as much Eovaldi. A salary trade such as this one would be tough to negotiate. The Red Sox would still need to take in some bad salary from the Rangers as well. Shin-Soo Choo would be one of the more likely returns Boston could see.
With so many more options the team can face, stay tuned for what’s in store.
