When the final payroll numbers are crunched the Red Sox will be above the $170 million threshold and will have to pay a penalty of 22.5% on any salary over the mark. Red Sox principal owner John Henry confirmed the team would pay a penalty in an email to Amalie Benjamin.
The luxury tax makes it unlikely the Red Sox will go after any more high priced free agents this offseason and will have to make any improvement in the lineup via trade. So, unless there is a new breakthrough in a deal for Adrian Gonzalez it looks like Lowell and Kotchman will platoon as corner infielders, and Youkilis will flip from first to third
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
