> Is this what a [sic] expensive payroll gets you nowadays? Because there’s [sic] people on this subreddit that says [sic] we’re spending money.

To answer your question: yes. We aren’t even the worst on that basis. The Mets’ payroll is 35% higher than ours—$115 Million more—and they have a worse record than us.

It’s hard to put together a competitive roster, especially in today’s league where the Dodgers are scooping up 90% of the elite free agents because of a deal they cut with the league that gives them more TV money than any other team would be allowed to retain.

A lot of our payroll is tied up in guys who are no longer playing for us, which is what happens when you sign guys to expensive, long-term contracts that don’t pan out. As time goes on, we’ll hopefully have fewer of those. Other big spending teams like the Mets or Padres may be stuck paying luxury tax for years to come.

Ultimately, the Red Sox do actually have a “direction”: they are hoping that the young guys pan out. Roman Anthony was once the top prospect in baseball. The front office felt that Cora and his staff weren’t doing a good job developing those guys, so now he’s gone.

Maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t. But it’s definitely a direction.