Red Sox Aiming to Be Under Luxury Tax in 2020 Provides Murky Future for Mookie Betts and JD Martinez

Some shocking news emerged on Friday as it pertains to the Boston Red Sox as club chairman Tom Werner revealed that the organization is striving to get below the luxury tax threshold in 2020.

In hindsight, this should really come as a surprise considering the sheer amount of cash the front office has handed out in recent offseasons. In the last two years, the franchise has spent north of $230 million, not to mention that they have over $150 million already committed to pieces in 2020.

What does this tell us? That the futures of both JD Martinez and Mookie Betts, which were already uncertain, just became significantly more cloudy.

In order to reboot the tax discipline, the Red Sox need to get below $208 million. Folks, Betts is a free agent after the 2020 campaign, and Martinez has an opt-out clause in the terms of his contract after 2019 (and the following two seasons).

Should JD choose to remain with Boston for next year, the club will be forced to hand $23.75 million his way, which would likely hinder their chances of getting below the luxury tax threshold. Still, Martinez is one of the best hitters in the game, so replacing him would be a difficult task.

It's anything but a win-win scenario.

Boston has asserted their intentions to keep Betts in Beantown for the remainder of his career, but the former MVP has hinted in recent weeks that he's going to test the open market when he hits free agency.

It will be a monstrous pill to swallow, but it's quite apparent that the Red Sox best option is to part ways with two of their biggest stars, should they be fixated on getting under the luxury tax.