Boston’s taxing pursuit of Juan Soto

RS2004foreever

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Dec 15, 2022
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His accountant is right and does not suck

signed a real tax accountant

80-90% of the time players use whatever firm the team uses, which the Yankees were PWC last I knew. Typically it’s a big four firm(PWC/Deloitte/KPMG/EY) or one of the two just outside that does it(BDO or RSM)
Ironically I worked at PwC for 20 years. We did the Yankees books - which I saw multiple times in the early aughts.
Tax is levied at the place where income is earned - as every NH resident with a job in MA knows. I am one - I pay MA state income tax even though I live in NH when I am present in the state.
 
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Auger34

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No, it’s literally what I said. What I didn’t say was “Teams cut payroll for four years in advance of free agent signings”. The other poster put those words in my mouth.

That the Red Sox hired the wrong guy to manage their rebuild has nothing to do with the proposition that teams always try to reset the luxury tax when they anticipate being over it for an extended stretch. And they do it because they usually have particular free agents in mind. The Sox were pretty clearly targeting Yamamoto, right down to signing his teammate the prior offseason to better their odds. And I’m pretty sure they had the Soto Sweepstakes marked on their calendar since 2018. I’m not sure why any of this is controversial.
You responded to a post where I SPECIFICALLY said 4 years ago with “to be fair, teams do this all of the time”. That was literally the whole point of my post. Not that teams don’t reset the tax to be active in free agency but that they don’t do it 4 seasons in advance for one specific player. Its in the first sentence of the post

The reason why everyone is “putting words in your mouth” is because your original post was in response to something that said exactly what you are arguing against now/saying you never said.

It seems like you didn’t actually read what you were responding to. If you go back and actually read it, you will see why you are getting the replies you are.
 

nighthob

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My original post was, literally, “teams clear the books in advance of free agent signings”. Everything else was you.
 

NickEsasky

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My original post was, literally, “teams clear the books in advance of free agent signings”. Everything else was you.
Dude look at the post you quoted and replied to. Auger literally mentions four years and you chime in with “teams do this all the time.” Maybe if you just meant one year in advance you should have clarified in your post.
 

Otis Foster

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This thread is beginning to read like the Comments in the Glob’s sports section. In case you’re wondering, that is not a compliment.
 

sezwho

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Ironically I worked at PwC for 20 years. We did the Yankees books - which I saw multiple times in the early aughts.
Tax is levied at the place where income is earned - as every NH resident with a job in MA knows. I am one - I pay MA state income tax even though I live in NH when I am present in the state.
I’m convinced. Can this be the final answer please? Pretty please?
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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This is completely different than what you said. Of course teams plan to get under the tax the year before so they can spend again on a big FA. What they don’t do is reset and stay under for FOUR years to try to wait out one particular guy.
For the record, the Sox went over in 2022. So it hasn't been a 4 year reset anyway.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Him claiming the team got spooked about his Twitter rumor makes me believe him less, not more. What would they care?
Bingo. And on Thanksgiving of all days they're really going to panic about an anonymous report on Twitter? If he has it right, what's the reason for panic? Real reporters have managed to sniff out a signing before and it still takes days/weeks for the team to make it official. If he has it wrong, is it really going to spur them into some kind of wild action that can't wait until Monday?
 

Hank Scorpio

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I would love it right now if Juan Soto tweeted the following...

"I'm sorry, I can't divulge information about my secret, illegal, deal with the Boston Red Sox."

And then followed it up by replying with...

"Oh crap, I shouldn't have said there was a deal."
"Oh crap, I shouldn't have said it was a secret."
"OH CRAP, I certainly haven't said it was illegal! Ah, it's too hot today."
 

Helmet Head

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Beyond Average MIck is in Kirk Minihane's world. Kirk constantly puts out joke stories on twitter to see how far they go and then makes fun of it on his show. I am not saying that is what is happening here. All I am saying is this kid from the Cape shouldn't be taken seriously.
 

Hank Scorpio

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My current thoughts on the Soto rumors:

- Three somewhat connected people coming out with the same / very close numbers (two have 12/600, one had 13/625), does add a level of credence. (Maybe the final year, extra $25M is an option year? A final option year for $25M on a12 year, $600M deal would seem... odd... to me).

- Passan not having a source on this make sense if the Red Sox do indeed want to keep this quiet and make a huge splash by revealing a signing "their way"

- Then again, if I was the Red Sox - I might want to drop the news on Thanksgiving. It would certainly create a buzz. Imagine families just sitting down to dinner, and your cousin drops the news that "the Sox just got Soto!"

I want to believe the deal is done - but we'll see. I do think the offer is real though.
 

E5 Yaz

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My current thoughts on the Soto rumors:

- Three somewhat connected people coming out with the same / very close numbers (two have 12/600, one had 13/625), does add a level of credence. (Maybe the final year, extra $25M is an option year? A final option year for $25M on a12 year, $600M deal would seem... odd... to me).

- Passan not having a source on this make sense if the Red Sox do indeed want to keep this quiet and make a huge splash by revealing a signing "their way"

- Then again, if I was the Red Sox - I might want to drop the news on Thanksgiving. It would certainly create a buzz. Imagine families just sitting down to dinner, and your cousin drops the news that "the Sox just got Soto!"

I want to believe the deal is done - but we'll see. I do think the offer is real though.
I tend to agree that the Rodriguez/Gomez reporting is close to the truth and that Passan is also correct that no deal is done.
The rest of it is garbage
 
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nighthob

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Dude look at the post you quoted and replied to. Auger literally mentions four years and you chime in with “teams do this all the time.” Maybe if you just meant one year in advance you should have clarified in your post.
If he was not speaking in hyperbole he should have prefaced his remark with something along the lines of “I’m an idiot”. Can you find me anyone in this thread claiming that the Scottish Trade was about pursuing Soto? Boston itself literally set up their ducks years in advance for the Yamamoto Sweepstakes. Just as the Giants did for Judge. Both teams lost their respective sweepstakes. The Dodgers had arranged their payroll, years in advance, to be ready for the Ohtani sweepstakes. It happens. Deal with it and let Mookie go.
 

jmanny24

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The average Micks is much more fun than multiple pages of tax talk. I hope you all don't get that easily distracted when driving :p
 

sodenj5

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I tend to agree that the Gonzalez/Gomez reporting is close to the truth and that Passan is also correct that no deal is done.
The rest of it is garbage
Feels like there is too much smoke for the offer not to be real, but also highly likely that a deal isn’t done.

No way Soto and Boras don’t go back to Cohen to get a higher offer and go back to Boston with said offer. That may have already happened once (the tweets about an upgraded offer in years and dollars) and will likely happen again.
 

nighthob

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My current thoughts on the Soto rumors:

- Three somewhat connected people coming out with the same / very close numbers (two have 12/600, one had 13/625), does add a level of credence. (Maybe the final year, extra $25M is an option year? A final option year for $25M on a12 year, $600M deal would seem... odd... to me).

- Passan not having a source on this make sense if the Red Sox do indeed want to keep this quiet and make a huge splash by revealing a signing "their way"

- Then again, if I was the Red Sox - I might want to drop the news on Thanksgiving. It would certainly create a buzz. Imagine families just sitting down to dinner, and your cousin drops the news that "the Sox just got Soto!"

I want to believe the deal is done - but we'll see. I do think the offer is real though.
I mean the rumor that worked out to 13 years at 48 per (which would make him the highest paid player) does sound credible. I agree on that much. Won’t stop Boros from pushing for 50, though.
 

TapeAndPosts

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I tend to agree that the Gonzalez/Gomez reporting is close to the truth and that Passan is also correct that no deal is done.
The rest of it is garbage
I was about to say pretty much exactly this. The Rodriguez 12/$600M + chat with Raffy and Gomez 13/$625 rumors seem broadly plausible given we already heard the Sox had made, and then improved, an offer. BeyondAvgMick claiming the deal is already done but the team is scared of his Twitter sleuthing superpowers is presumably who Passan was shooting down with prejudice in confirming there's no done deal.

If we want to feel good vibes, it's not crazy to think that Soto is considering Boston seriously and that negotiations may be well along. But it could easily go in the other direction, too.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Feels like there is too much smoke for the offer not to be real, but also highly likely that a deal isn’t done.

No way Soto and Boras don’t go back to Cohen to get a higher offer and go back to Boston with said offer. That may have already happened once (the tweets about an upgraded offer in years and dollars) and will likely happen again.
I can buy this. I also expect that there will be a couple more weeks of this shit before it's settled. This thread is probably going to be doubled in length before he signs officially. I look forward to what kind of weird nonsense it takes to fill it. Perhaps more than I look forward to finding out where Soto ultimately ends up.
 

brienc

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Jul 26, 2005
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Perhaps that Mick guy is making a bet that the Sox do sign Soto, and he looks like Nostradamus afterward. Worst case for him is he deletes his account and makes another wild claim next time with a new name.
 

simplicio

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Perhaps that Mick guy is making a bet that the Sox do sign Soto, and he looks like Nostradamus afterward. Worst case for him is he deletes his account and makes another wild claim next time with a new name.
I think he's setting up a run for office, I'm just not sure if it's for grifting state legislator or mayor.