Sign of the times: the New York Yankees are so petrified of going over the luxury tax again that they are paying their most hated rival to take some salary off their hands.
The Yankees have sent reliever Adam Ottavino, and the $9 million he’s owed for 2021, to the Red Sox for … the RED SOX picking up a prospect FROM the Yankees. Yes. The Yankees are effectively paying the Red Sox in prospect currency to take Ottavino’s contract:
RHP Frank German, the Yankees' No. 24 prospect per @MLBPipeline, goes to Red Sox along with Ottavino, per source. First: @Joelsherman1
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 25, 2021
That sound you hear is baseball’s financial situation jumping the shark.
Ottavino, 35, has been more good than bad the last few years, so he’s probably a good bet to perform for the Red Sox on that contract anyway. And the YANKEES had to pay the Red Sox to take him, because they want to add a starting pitcher (probably), and desperately do not want to be over the luxury tax. If you think baseball doesn’t effectively have a salary cap, you’re just not paying attention.
Also, it’s just so weird that the only team with whom this could happen was the Red Sox. You don’t see these two teams get together on a trade very often, especially when both are trying to win in 2021. It’s cool, though. Not like a financially-motivated transaction between these two rivals has ever gone poorly for one of them …*
*(Ironic addition here? It was Adam Ottavino who said he could strike out Babe Ruth every time.)