I think there was some payroll leeway until the farm was in place. The Sox did go over, but half of the payroll was heavily paid aging contracts Bloom inherited…
Don’t you think that’s why Bloom was hired?
Build a competitive team, get in the postseason, and do so without going over the limit?
Tampa has a dirt poor payroll but has made the postseason 4 years in a row…
Easiest way to beat it is to simply not go over ever. It does make it more difficult to win the title, but with the extra wild card, it’sa little easier to get into the postseason than it was in years past…
I believe the idea here isn’t to unclog the logjam but rather to find a way to get some starting pitching that isn’t already over 30 and adding for 8 figures annually…