The Boston Red Sox are annoying their fans despite the team's good form.
Red Sox Facing Backlash After $261 Million Report Surfaces Before Trade Deadline originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Most teams get worse after trading their best player, but not the Boston Red Sox. They were out of playoff positioning for most of the season, but they now own the AL's second Wild Card spot after trading star slugger Rafael Devers on June 15. They were also only one game behind the New York Yankees for the first spot entering Thursday.
Devers is a three-time All-Star and helped the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series, but he fell out with the organization over a disagreement about his deployment in the field. The veteran didn't appreciate that the team asked him to learn first base after Triston Casas' injury, as they had previously told him he'd be a full-time designated hitter, via ESPN. He originally played third base for the squad.
The San Francisco Giants taking on the remaining eight-and-a-half years of Devers' contract allows the Red Sox to reallocate the $280 million they would have owed him. However, the team is still being financially conservative in trade negotiations, via MassLive's Chris Cotillo.
“Boston has $9-10 million to go before crunching up against the next CBT [Competitive Balance Tax] threshold of $261 million," he reported. "That would seem to be hard to get to. But one executive who has had talks with the Red Sox has said money is a factor in their negotiations.”
The Red Sox' payroll is currently at $251.7 million, and they would face increased tax penalties if they passed the $261 million threshold.
What we're hearing on the Red Sox with six hours to go before the deadline:https://t.co/4qNhXHHh6z
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) July 31, 2025
Boston fans aren't pleased on social media.
"Acting like we didn’t just free up $260 million from Devers. [Expletive] me and this team, bro," one said.
"I could feel my blood pressure going up while reading this tweet! The Sox have more than enough money to use as financial muscle to lessen the prospect cost in a trade," another said. "Sounds like the pitchforks might be coming out soon."
"Maybe they shouldn't have paid Ceddanne [Rafaela] or Kristian [Campbell] in advance of arbitration, and they might have more $$ to play with," another said. "Also, good luck trying to lock up Roman [Anthony] & Marcelo [Mayer] up with team-friendly deals."
"You ever see a tweet and immediately feel your blood pressure rise? That's how I just felt reading this," another said.
"How in the [expletive] are we up against that salary cap? We traded our highest-paid player, and we have 173 rookies in our lineup," another said. "Who the [expletive] is making money on this thing?"
Related: Red Sox Miss Out on Season-Ending Injury Replacement Before Trade Deadline
Related: Red Sox’ Alex Cora Makes Decision After Unfortunate Injury News
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 31, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Baseball
