I wasn’t looking at it financially. I meant from a pitching depth perspective.
The Sox lost out on Sale for most of the 4 previous seasons, and had no replacement ready for this despite it becoming a repeated inevitability.
The Braves had a slew of young pitchers, the bulk of were MLB ready but inexperienced. If they didn’t want to rely on any of Waldrep, Smith-Shawver, Elder, Schwellenbach, Vines, or Dodd for a full season, Sale was a good option to take. Unlike the Sox, they didn’t need Sale to stay healthy all season. Because they had the arms behind him the Sox didn’t have.
So yes, their depth put them in a better position to gamble on Sale…