According to Alex Speier of WEEI.com, the Red Sox only added $2 million to the 2010 payroll for luxury tax purposes after signing Adrian Beltre and trading Casey Kotchman to the Mariners for Bill Hall.
It's some pretty clever maneuvering. The $5 million player option for Adrian Beltre is key, as it pulls his average annual value to $7 million per season. With that contract in place, the Red Sox agreed to trade Kotchman -- likely to make $3.5 million in arbitation -- to the Mariners for Hall, whose contract averages $6 million per season. In turn, the Mariners will kick in around $7.5 million as part of the trade, which will be deducted from the Red Sox payroll for luxury tax purposes. Add it all up and the Red Sox were able to sign Beltre and acquire Hall for just around $2 million. Not bad, Theo. Not bad at all. Source: WEEI.com
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