Boston Red Sox: What Will They Do with Potential Payroll Flexibility?

The Boston Red Sox are on the verge of completing a blockbuster that will totally transform their franchise, assuming that all the small details work out. Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Nick Punto and Adrian Gonzalez will be on their way out of Boston along with their massive contracts.

That gives the Boston Red Sox a lot of payroll flexibility. Will they go right out and spend it this winter to basically refill all the holes they are creating with new weapons?

If they want to, there will be some pretty big names on the free-agent market this winter. As of right now, some of the most major names are Josh Hamilton, Michael Bourn, Zack Greinke and Lance Berkman.

Conveniently, Berkman could play first base, either Hamilton or Bourn could take the outfield spot and Greinke could obviously fit at the top of the rotation.

I'm not trying to propose that the Red Sox should automatically chase after these three or recklessly spend money, but the point is that they will now have options this winter.

Could the Red Sox try to chase all three of these guys and pull off a winter like the Miami Marlins or the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim did last year?

Of course they could.

However, after they just escaped the trap of offering too many giant contracts that ended up not working out so well, it would be surprising to see them dive into this situation right away.

The American League East is highly competitive, so there is no doubt that the Red Sox will be tempted to do some intense spending this winter, but perhaps they should be a little bit more cautious before they jump right back in and invest all of this money again.

Whether you think I know everything or nothing about Major League Baseball, you should follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook and keep in touch. I love hearing what you all have to say!

Follow @spinkickers