They ended up with a lower payroll after the moves they made, they just didn't/haven't re-invest/ed the $aving$. You just know they'll now end up giving up more prospects to get pitching.
I said it during the off season, it would be better for the long term health of the franchise if it held on to its few remaining upper-minors prospects and instead bit the bullet for a year or 2 and went over budget. I know 135M should be enough to field a contender, but once they took on Reyes and Buehrle's deals, they had to know what payroll would look like in 2-3 years. If they didn't see the payroll constraints 2 years ahead, then the team prez and owners are just hopeless.
The team actually made some potentially good pick-ups for the bullpen in Matt West and Preston Guilmet, only to lose them for nothing.
Someone in that F/O is giving good advice yet the dumb side always seems to win out.