There are a lot of uncertainties when it comes to this upcoming Major League Baseball offseason. But according to Red Sox chairman Tom Werner, there should be no doubt regarding his team's willingness to keep its payroll among the highest in the game.
"We’re staring at a very disappointing season," Werner said while appearing on the NESN pregame show prior to the Red Sox' 12-inning loss to the Yankees Friday night. "We don’t have any excuses. We’ve got a lot of assets and, as everybody knows, we spend and we’re not a small-market team. We’re going to be back next year."
It has been well-documented that one of the Red Sox' goals was to reset the their luxury tax situation, with the ability to surpass the $210 luxury tax threshold with minimal penalties.
The Red Sox currently own the third-highest payroll in MLB, with only four teams with more money committed to the 2021 season ($.23 million.
The on-field payoff obviously has been subpar, with the Red Sox (19-33) currently owning the third-worst winning percentage in MLB, only behind Pittsburgh and Texas.
“There’s no doubt about it,” he said. “We take responsibility for it. There’s no excuses, either. Obviously, we’ve had the injury bug. It certainly didn’t help that Chris Sale, before the season, went down, and Eduardo Rodriguez wasn’t available. But we’re not going to make any excuses. The only thing I’ll say is that there were a number of bright spots this year. We’re already attacking the challenges and we expect to be competitive next year. ... We've seen a lot of encouraging signs but we have a lot of work to do."