Has solely to do with contract length. As expected all the big contracts filter their way to NY or LA.
This is why I find it bizarre Dana has been publicly vocal about pursuing a backup catcher. Do they intend to DFA Salazar or trade him? It kind of weakens his value to announce we are seeking a replacement. However, with the arbitration negotiations coming in much higher than projected, I have to wonder if this quest is over.
Anytime you're puzzled by something Dana says, just remember: he says random things. They generally aren't true.
Eh - they got out of a $300MM contract of a malcontent without having to pay any of that salary. That's a pretty big win for them - they have that money to spend on equivalent players who are a better fit. Got a few prospects out of it too.
I like Salazar but not as a #2. A #2 catcher must start 35+ games and his bat simply r****ds the run production in a lineup that can't afford that. Not getting a backup puts much more pressure on Diaz to correct his early career decline. Sometimes pressure is good. Maybe we will see.
As @Nook has mentioned, he caught flak in Atlanta for being *too* honest...he's certainly done a 180 on that front
They had to pay 42M of the remaining 254M in the trade so not nothing. Look at all the reactions from Red Sox fans..they're all absolutely livid. The Fenway Sports group is known to be cheap and Red Sox fans are not confident they will spend that money. Devers was their franchise superstar and walking 30 homeruns every season. The top prospect James Tibbs they acquired is now in the Dodgers system and the other prospect was a throw-in and not even ranked top 50 in the Red Sox system now. The main Major Leaguer they got in the trade Jordan Hicks was awful for them (8.20 ERA) and now they're stuck with him for the next 2 years for 25M.
I think he was a malcontent as soon as they signed Bregman - before it was determined if Bregman would play 3B or 2B. If you're paying a guy to be the face of the franchise, you want him to at least publicly pretend he's willing to do whatever is best for the team. Devers did the exact opposite and publicly trashed the idea. Hard to sell that from a marketing perspective. Compare it to Altuve and his open willingness to learn (and maybe look awful) in LF this late in his career to help the team however he could.
