Well, it was becoming more of a “when” than an “if,” but it now seems that the time has finally come. According to multiple reports, the Boston Red Sox have agreed to trade All Star OF and 2018 AL MVP, Mookie Betts, to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Not only that, the Dodgers will also be acquiring LHP, David Price, in the deal. The Red Sox will be getting back OF Alex Verdugo. Along with that, Rosenthal also reports that the Minnesota Twins will be acquiring RHP Kenta Maeda from the Dodgers and sending Brusdar Graterol to the Red Soex as part of this three-team deal; the Los Angeles Angels will be acquiring OF Joc Pederson in a separate deal. The Dodgers will seemingly be taking on Betts’ $27 million contract of 2020 as well as the remaining $96 million over the next three years on Price’s deal.
The Dodgers were already expected to, once again, be the favorites to win the NL pennant. Now, they slot Mookie at the top of that lineup that already consists of reigning NL MVP Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, Justin Turner, Gavin Lux, Corey Seager and Will Smith. Price will slide into the vacant spot of the rotation that was made available with the departure of Hyun-Jin Ryu, right in between the always impressive Clayton Kershaw and young gunslingers Walker Beuhler and Dustin May.
Verdugo is the main piece heading across country to Boston. The 24-year-old OF played in 103 games for LA in 2019, where he batted .294 with 12 home runs, 22 doubles and an OPS of .817. Maeda heads to Minnesota to the Twins who, although have plenty of firepower in their lineup with the addition of Josh Donaldson, they need pitching help if they look to keep control of the AL Central. Pederson will be sticking around southern California and teaming up with Mike Trout. Nothing but a couple of Angels in the Outfield there…..no? Ok, moving on.
The question that now comes to mind: are the Dodgers going to look to sign Mookie long term? It’s hard to think they won’t, but they may not be willing to meet the contract demands of Betts. There were reports not long ago that Boston did indeed offer Betts an extension last year in the 10 year/$300 million range. Betts countered with 12 years/ $420 million, which would be just $6 million less than what Trout’s extension was. When I first heard that, I thought “is it AAV Mookie is looking for or does he really want the years?” Well, Trout has an AAV of $35.5 million; Mookie with his demands had AAV at $35 million. Many teams may not want to go 12 years as they’ve seen how those contracts can hurt the team on the back end. The Angels almost had no choice but to do that for Trout as they, under no circumstances, could let him go. If it’s money Mookie wants, maybe he would settle for something like 8 years/$320 million. That’s an AAV of $40 million, which would give him the highest contract in terms of AAV in baseball. Just something I thought about when I heard that report.
The Red Sox have seemed to be a part of many major off-season headlines this winter. They’ve now traded their 27-year-old former MVP and are still looking for a new manager. Anyways, the Super Bowl has passed and pitchers & catchers report in just a matter of days. Quite a way to end the hot stove season, huh folks?
