To be clear, I don't think the Sox are going to have a DFA party. Not to mention It would be gutting to see likable, talented players DFAed for pure salary reasons (even in the hopes of giving them a chance to chase a ring). And of course it could be tough to explain to players and fans alike -- I'm not sure I can think of another similar situation in which a team literally dumped veteran players in this way.
You're right. The Sox will certainly not have a DFA party, because DFAing players won't accomplish any money savings. When a player is DFAed, the DFAing team is still on the hook for his contract. E.g. JBJ: the Sox DFA him, Toronto picks him up, pays the MLB minimum portion of his salary and the Sox are on the hook for the rest.
Waiving players, which most posters here are talking about, works like this:
"Any player under contract may be placed on waivers ("waived") at any time. Before the abolition of August trades in 2019, teams were
required to place any player they wished to trade after MLB's July 31 trade deadline on waivers before trading him.
If a player is waived, any team may claim him. If more than one team claims the player from waivers, the team with the weakest record in the player's league gets preference. If no team in the player's league claims him, the claiming team with the weakest record in the other league gets preference. In the first month of the season, preference is determined using the previous year's standings.
If a team claims a player off waivers and has a viable claim as described above, his current team (the "waiving team") may choose one of the following options:
- arrange a trade with the claiming team for that player within two business days of the claim; or
- refuse the claiming team's request and keep the player on its major league roster, effectively canceling the waiver; or
- do nothing and allow the claiming team to do three things: assume the player's existing contract, pay the waiving team a waiver fee, and place the player on its active major league roster.
If a player is claimed and the waiving team exercises its rescission option, the waiving team may not use the option again for that player in that season—a subsequent waiver would be irrevocable with a claiming team getting the player essentially for nothing.
[8] If no team claims a player off waivers after three business days, the player has cleared waivers and may be assigned to a minor league team, traded (to any team), or released outright.
The waiver "wire" is a secret within the personnel of the Major League Baseball clubs; no official announcement of a waiver is made until a transaction actually occurs, although information sometimes
leaks out.
[8][9] Before the abolition of post-July 31 trades, players were often waived during the post-July "waiver-required" trading period for teams to gauge trade interest in a particular player.
[8] Usually, when the player was claimed, the waiving team would rescind the waiver to avoid losing the player unless a trade could be worked out with the claiming team."
So what we're talking about here is the point bolded above -- waiving players to allow their contracts to be picked up by another team (no trades possible after the trade deadline). That's the only way to achieve the financial savings to possibly get under the tax cap.
Personally, I'd be fine with letting go of JD, Kiké, Wacha, Eovaldi and Hill if it would get the team under the cap. Especially JD. I'd let just JD go, regardless of getting under the tax.
