McAdam: As Red Sox look to slash payroll, finding a fit on the trade market is taking some time

To date this offseason, the Red Sox have done nothing to reduce their payroll, a task which the club labeled a "goal'' when the regular season ended more than two months ago.

That's not to suggest that there haven't been efforts to do so. Indeed, at the winter meetings held earlier this month in San Diego, the organization held talks with a number of teams with the expressed intent of lopping a big salary (or two) from their current roster.

On occasion, according to industry sources, the specter of moving Mookie Betts came up, though such a trade wasn't one the Red Sox were actively pursuing.

Instead, as has been the case for much of the offseason, the Sox would far prefer to move David Price.

The reasons are two-fold.



For one thing, the team has yet to hear anything close to fair value in exchange for Betts, a situation that's likely the result of a number of variables. With just one year of control left and the prospect of a 2020 salary in excess of $27 million, interested teams aren't about to offer much for a short-term rental.

The sense that Betts is not at all interested in signing an extension with a new team — preferring to make himself available to all 30 teams on the open market next winter — is also serving to depress the market. Given how zealously teams guard their prospects, few clubs would want to sacrifice younger, controllable players in exchange for just one season from Betts.

Internally, the Red Sox also sense that they could market Betts at the trade deadline next July and not see much drop-off. Teams could be more desperate by then to obtain a difference-maker like Betts for the stretch run and the postseason. In the meantime, the Sox could still keep Betts for the first two-thirds of the season and re-assess their standing after the All-Star break.

A USA Today report earlier this week said the Sox had had discussions about Betts with the Los Angeles Dodgers appears to have been overstated, though it's likely his name has come up in talks between the organizations. For now, the Dodgers appear more interested in landing an impact player for the left side of their infield — either free-agent third baseman Josh Donaldson or, via trade, Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor. Lindor is under control for two more seasons and seems to be more open to an extension than is Betts.

If the Red Sox lack leverage with Betts, however, they may soon be well-positioned to move someone like Price.

Most of the better free-agent starters have been plucked from the market, leaving only Hyun-Jin Ryu and Dallas Keuchel available. And with a number of teams still in search of rotation upgrades, some may have to fill their needs through a trade.

Price is due $96 million over the next three seasons, and coming off a season in which he didn't pitch over the final six weeks due to injury. Price underwent a relatively minor surgery to remove a cyst from his left wrist in late September, but questions about his durability combined with his remaining salary obligations, make it tougher to move him.

One report had the White Sox, who have been unsuccessful in pursuit of a free agent starter, interested in Price if he were to be packaged with Andrew Benintendi. Acquiring a 25-year-old outfielder, under control for three more seasons, would help offset the burden of Price's contract.

But the Red Sox are known to prefer taking more of Price's money back in order to make a deal rather than include a player whom they view as part of their future. Unloading someone as relatively affordable as Benintendi (projected arbitration cost for 2020: $4.9 million) is counter-productive.

Other teams in the market for starting pitching include the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins and perhaps the Dodgers.