BOSTON -- Turns out, the Red Sox got what they paid for.
And so did the Dodgers.
For those who believe you can't buy a World Series, the two participants in the 114th edition of the Fall Classic present a compelling case to the contrary. The Red Sox paid $238 million for the American League crown, the highest payroll in the sport, while the Dodgers forked over $194.5 million (fourth overall) for their second consecutive trip to the Series.
For L.A., that was downright frugal. This was the first time since 2012 the Dodgers were under $200 million, which happens to coincide with the year Magic Johnson's ownership group purchased the franchise for $2 billion. The cash spigots had been turned on full blast, until this season, when L.A.'s mandate -- like the Yankees, whose $192-million payroll was fifth -- was to get below the $197-million luxury-tax threshold.
In that sense, returning to the World Series, while still slashing $50 million from last year's MLB-leading payroll, has to be doubly satisfying for the Dodgers. Now they get to reap the benefits of the new collective bargaining agreement, which means no tax this year and a reset to a 20 percent rate should they go over the adjusted $206-million threshold for 2019.
Both the Dodgers and Yankees were able to hit their financial targets this season, but L.A. pulled off two things Brian Cashman & Co. could not -- the acquisition of Manny Machado a few days before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline and then advancing to the Fall Classic, a place the Yankees have failed to reach since winning their 27th title in 2009.
It's worth noting, however, that the Dodgers didn't have to worry about the Red Sox until now, and Boston's seeming disregard for payroll penalties should continue to put pressure on the Yankees going forward. Despite Hal Steinbrenner's repeated claims that he shouldn't need to spend $200 million to win the World Series, the Red Sox have gladly done that this year, and it will be interesting to see how the tax and draft penalties hurt them in 2019 and beyond.
Can Steinbrenner continue to exercise moderate fiscal restraint this winter, especially if Chris Sale and J.D. Martinez are celebrating in a duck-boat parade come November? We don't see how. After the Yankees were eliminated in a four-game smackdown by the Sox, Cashman declined to make any bold statements about throwing cash at the team's holes. Instead, the GM echoed Steinbrenner's mantra, and pledged to re-evaluate the payroll when the team's decision-makers huddle in Tampa later this month.
"I don't think [Steinbrenner] is going to limit anything, from his standpoint, for consideration," Cashman said then. "It just comes down to what's in front of him, what the choices are, and how good he feels about those choices. He'll set the dance tune and we'll dance to it."
Machado will certainly be on that prospective playlist, along with Bryce Harper, and perhaps even Dodgers' Game 1 starter Clayton Kershaw, who after the Series can opt out of the remaining two years, $65 million left on his contract. Whatever Cashman chooses to do in this market, his actions no doubt will be shaded to some degree by last December's trade for Giancarlo Stanton, who is still due another $240 million through 2027.
By contrast, the Red Sox waited out a frigid free-agent market to sign Martinez last February, giving him a five-year, $110-million deal. Martinez was worth every penny, hitting .330 with 43 home runs, 130 RBI and a 1.031 OPS in an MVP-caliber season that will challenge teammate Mookie Betts for the award. And how's this for motivation: Martinez has two opt-outs, one after the 2019 season and another in 2020. So as much as it looks like the Red Sox got a steal in Martinez, his price is going up, and it's going to cost them plenty more to keep the Scott Boras client.
Speaking of Betts, he's been on a year-to-year plan with the Sox, and is earning $10.5 million this season, his first foray into arbitration. Betts has two more arbitration years after this one, so his price will be skyrocketing also. What tends to be forgotten about the AL champs, however, is the fact that their third highest-paid player, Hanley Ramirez, was cut loose in May, at a sunk cost of $22.75 million -- but saving them from a '19 vesting option of $22 million, which automatically kicked in if he got to 497 plate appearances.
In other words, the Red Sox push for their fourth world championship in 14 years didn't come cheap. We're just wondering how much it will cost the Yankees in the coming months.
Sports on 10/22/2018