Cots has the Red Sox at $156.3m, all in. https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tz8qHiYrIzlFtVnly7gibjw&output=html
Drew brings it to $166.3m.
Using the estimates that Speier had before the year of $4 million for depth call ups, $10.8m for benefits, and $1.2m for 40-man minor salaries, that puts the Red Sox around $182.3m. http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/alex-speier/2013/11/08/how-much-can-red-sox-spend-winter-2014-payroll
That leaves nearly $7m for waiver wire deals. Not a ton, but enough for a $21m/year player since you only get charged 1/3 of the salary for end of July deals. Speier suggested $5m was a reasonable reserve for trades. (Peavy was $5.5m.)
Given that we get Drew for 2/3 of the year instead of 1/3, give up no prospects, and are not saddled with anything in the future, if the yardstick for measuring this deal is what could have been in two months, this seems pretty favorable. I mean, we basically got 2 months of Peavy by giving up a good asset, paying $5.5m, and taking on the last, overpay year of his 5-year deal. Waiver wire free trade deals in July aren't cheap, and we still have $7m or so if the right deal comes along.
Drew brings it to $166.3m.
Using the estimates that Speier had before the year of $4 million for depth call ups, $10.8m for benefits, and $1.2m for 40-man minor salaries, that puts the Red Sox around $182.3m. http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/alex-speier/2013/11/08/how-much-can-red-sox-spend-winter-2014-payroll
That leaves nearly $7m for waiver wire deals. Not a ton, but enough for a $21m/year player since you only get charged 1/3 of the salary for end of July deals. Speier suggested $5m was a reasonable reserve for trades. (Peavy was $5.5m.)
Given that we get Drew for 2/3 of the year instead of 1/3, give up no prospects, and are not saddled with anything in the future, if the yardstick for measuring this deal is what could have been in two months, this seems pretty favorable. I mean, we basically got 2 months of Peavy by giving up a good asset, paying $5.5m, and taking on the last, overpay year of his 5-year deal. Waiver wire free trade deals in July aren't cheap, and we still have $7m or so if the right deal comes along.