Chris Sale has one of the Red Sox' highest salaries, making $30M next year as part of a new dealGETTY IMAGES
The Red Sox are on track to pay a $13.05M luxury tax for a season in which they are "likely to miss the playoffs," according to Ronald Blum of the AP. For purposes of the tax, the team's payroll increased from $239.7M on Opening Day to $242.8M on Aug. 31. Teams are allowed to get to $206M "before the luxury tax kicks in." Because the Red Sox are "over the luxury tax threshold for the second straight year," they pay at a 30% rate on the first $20M over $206M and a 42% rate on the next $20M (AP, 9/14).
GETTING IT DONE: In Boston, Alex Speier wrote Red Sox Senior VP/Major League & Minor League Operations Raquel Ferreira’s "elevated status" following the firing of President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski "marks an enormous development." Ferreira started with the team as an "administrative assistant" in '99, then advanced through "numerous promotions in the team’s minor league operations before the elevation" to VP/Baseball Administration in late '14. Promoted to her current position after the '18 season, she now "oversees the team’s baseball operations budget and day-to-day, off-field activities." Red Sox President & CEO Sam Kennedy said, "I’ll tell you flat-out: (The Xander Bogaerts) deal would not have gotten done without Raquel." He added, "Raquel has been here the longest. She has the deepest relationships throughout the entire organization of anyone. She, simply put, is a leader. People look to her for input and direction and guidance. It was a complete and total no-brainer." Speier noted MLB has been "engaged for some time in a number of diversity initiatives, including efforts to get women into growth positions both in front offices and on the field." Ferreira now "stands as an example of what is possible -- joining a prominent baseball organization in an entry level position and to rise within it" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/14).
