The Boston Red Sox have made tough decisions to put Travis Shaw and Brock Holt into the starting lineup over Pablo Sandoval and Rusney Castillo entering the season.

Including a calculated portion of their signing bonuses, Sandoval ($17.6 million) and Castillo ($11.3 million) are owed nearly $30 million. The Red Sox are also paying Allen Craig $9 million to stay at Triple-A Pawtucket. In addition, Chris Young will make $6.5 million as the club's fourth outfielder.

Alex Speier writes that Boston has $48.1 million committed to bench players, easily the largest total in the American League.

The Red Sox positional reserves will receive roughly 70 percent as much in salary as the entire estimated payroll of the Tampa Bay Rays roster ($69.4 million).