Red Sox Exec Implies Club Will Have Expanded Budget For Franchise-Altering Offseason

Boston needs to spend heavily in order to revamp the pitching staff

Scott Neville | Sep 14, 2023

Red Sox Exec Implies Club Will Have Expanded Budget For Franchise-Altering Offseason /

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Boston Red Sox

Everything is starting to point toward a notable offseason for the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox are entering the winter with a reset luxury tax and a loaded farm system, allowing them to make any move they think would benefit the team most.

Prior to the madness that ensued Thursday -- Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom's firing and general manager Brian O'Halloran being moved from the aforementioned role into a "senior leadership position" -- the latter made some interesting comments.

"We need to add, and ownership is definitely committed to doing what it takes to improve the team this offseason to go into next season with a chance to win a championship," O'Halloran said on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show."

The only thing ownership can do to commit to winning is to offer an enhanced budget. Bloom's firing on Thursday only points further toward high spending this offseason.

With the luxury tax reset and the urgency showing within the organization, it would not be shocking for Boston to spend upwards of $250 million on next season's roster.

The Red Sox are known as a big-market team and have operated as such for the majority of the century. However, Boston ranks 11th in payroll for the 2023 season -- a far cry from their championship seasons.

Boston ranked second in payroll for 2004 and 2007, third in payroll in 2013 and first in payroll in 2018 according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The Red Sox have no excuse not to spend heavily this winter, and appear willing to do so.

More MLB: Alex Cora Has Strong Odds To Replace Chaim Bloom As Speculation Grows

Published Sep 14, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu