Boston Red Sox finally made the move most of the league expected them to make. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Red Sox traded their star right fielder Mookie Betts to Los Angeles Dodgers.
Passan reports that Red Sox gave up Betts and pitcher David Price to LA while receiving outfielder Alex Verdugo. The trade also included a third team in Minnesota Twins, who got pitcher Kenta Maeda from Dodgers while sending pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol to Boston.
Reportedly, Red Sox were engaged in talks with several teams about Betts in recent days, with San Diego Padres making a strong push to sign the player. However, Boston opted to deal with Dodgers and Twins instead, seeing their offer as a better value for the future.
Mookie Betts had another great season in 2019, hitting .295 with 29 home runs, and 80 RBIs while earning his fourth consecutive All-Star appearances. Still, Red Sox have been exploring the trade options for the 27-year-old thorough the entire offseason.
Betts has just one year left on his contract, which will pay him $27 million this year. Red Sox’s chances to sign him on the extension seemed unlikely, so the team decided to get some assets for him while his value was still high.
Boston also profited from the deal by shedding Price’s contract off their books, which enabled them to get closer to their goal of getting under the luxury tax number. The veteran left-hander has three years and $96 million left on the seven-year, $217 million contract he signed in 2015.
