The Red Sox beefed up their starting rotation Tuesday with the news that they acquired Sonny Gray and cash from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke.

Here are five quick thoughts about the trade:

1) The payroll just took a big hit.

Gray has just one year remaining on a multi-year deal and the Red Sox have re-worked some of that. Instead of a $35 million and $5 million mutual buyout option for 2027, Gray will be paid $31 million with a $10 million buyout.

The Red Sox are getting $20 million from the Cardinals in the deal, too, to help offset some of Gray’s money. But for CBT (competitive balance tax) purposes, the Sox are quickly closing in on the first threshold. They were at about $210 million before the deal and are now just $11 million short of g

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