At Wednesday night’s 2012 Red Sox Town Hall Meeting, fans from around the Nation wanted to know what the trade meant. They grilled general manager Ben Cherington and manager Bobby Valentine for more than an hour. There were questions on a wide variety of topics, but the conversation kept coming back to the shortstop.
It’s not that Scutaro is the most valuable, or even most important, player on the team. Far from it. It’s what the trade might represent for a team that is expected to contend every year.
The Sox freed up some $7.7 million in luxury tax money by dealing Scutaro to Colorado for unproven pitcher Clayton Mortensen. A few days later, they added $3 million with the signing of Cody Ross.
You don’t need to consult a tax expert to figure out that the team came out more than $4.5 million ahead as a net result of those two transactions. And it was pretty clear on Wednesday night that Sox fans want that money reinvested in the team.
With Edwin Jackson heading to Washington to become a National and Roy Oswalt (still) reportedly leaning toward Texas, how could the Sox reinvest that money? Truth is they may not be able to. They are running out of time, with the start of spring training looming.
Gavin Floyd would fit well under the luxury tax threshold, but the Sox would need to give up something to get him via trade. Could they make a deal? Of course they could.
Or they could wait a little longer. Last year the Sox didn’t add Alfredo Aceves until Feb. 8, and he proved to be one of the most important pitchers on the roster. There are still guys out there, like Oswalt, who hasn’t signed with anyone yet despite what he’d like you to believe.
The point is, the team you see now probably won’t be the team you see on Opening Day in Detroit. That’s usually the case, but this year fans are keeping a keen eye on any last-minute transactions the team makes. There’s extra money to spend after the Scutaro trade, and it’s apparently burning a hole in the collective pockets of Red Sox Nation.
