Boston Red Sox' Financial Situation Heading into Free Agency

The Boston Red Sox freed up a lot of money thanks to the trade that sent Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and Nick Punto to the Los Angeles Dodgers in August. This extra money can now be spent on free agents and contract extensions.

It is a huge financial asset to have in the years to come.

As of right now, there are only four active players on the roster who have a set income level in 2013. According to spotrac.com, Clay Buchholz is owed $5,750,000, John Lackey will be paid $15,950,000, Jon Lester's salary will reach $11,625,000 and Dustin Pedroia will be paid $10,250,000. (Yes, there was a typo on this website).

There are also players on the roster who are arbitration eligible this offseason.

This list of players includes: Alfredo Aceves, Mike Aviles, Andrew Bailey, Craig Breslow, Jacoby Ellsbury, Rich Hill, Andrew Miller, Franklin Morales, Clayton Mortenson, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Ryan Sweeney and Junichi Tazawa.

All of these players will get some boost in their salaries, but it still should give the Red Sox plenty of payroll space to make several signings over the winter months.

The rest of the contracts are the minor league players and unrestricted free agents. The Red Sox will likely only sign Cody Ross and David Ortiz to some sort of contract in 2013. But they could still sign Vicente Padilla for his veteran prowess in the bullpen.

The rough total of the money will be around $115,000,000, so the Red Sox will be in the hunt for some free agents. Not a big name guy, but a player who can finish off this team and help the team chemistry in the long run.