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| (Photo By Brita Meng Outzen) |
Your
2013 World Champion Boston Red Sox (we can't write that enough!) are in pretty good shape financially. They are likely to be
under the $189 million luxury tax threshold (unlike
The Evil Ones), and even have a little more room to make additional off-season moves. Boston is particularly deep in two spots—
major-league level starting pitching and
overall organizational catching. They could unload, say,
Ryan Dempster and his $13 million salary in a trade for help on the left-side of the infield. With
Jon Lester,
Clay Buchholz,
John Lackey,
Jake Peavy and
Felix Doubront still here (and multiple "kids" near readiness in the minors), this would be a prudent move. Or they could "package" Dempster and
Ryan Lavarnway to fetch even bigger prey in a trade. With
David Ross and
A. J. Pierzynski set for 2014 (and
Christian Vasquez,
Dan Butler,
Blake Swihart and
Jon Denney all surging from below), losing Lavarnway would not be a big blow. So, don't be surprised if the champs get even stronger soon via a strategic trade.
