The Mookie Betts trade saga finally reached an end Monday when the Red Sox announced a deal sending him and left-hander David Price to the Dodgers. Both players were instrumental in helping the Red Sox to their most recent World Series title in 2018, and Betts is on a short list of the game’s greatest players. But the Red Sox nonetheless moved on from the two, saving $75MM in the trade ($48MM on Price, $27MM on Betts) and getting back a trio of promising young players in outfielder Alex Verdugo, infielder Jeter Downs and catcher Connor Wong.
Needless to say, Boston’s hope is that Verdugo, Downs and Wong will emerge as long-term core pieces. In the here and now, though, only Verdugo figures to play a significant role. The 23-year-old had a solid rookie season in 2019 before injuries cut him down. Even if Verdugo stays healthy in 2020, he’s not going to make Red Sox fans forget about Betts. That’s not a knock on Verdugo – who has shown that he’s a quality major leaguer – but a compliment to Betts, a legitimate superstar.
Betts was among the driving forces for a position player group that finished fourth in the majors in runs and sixth in fWAR last year. To be sure, Betts didn’t do it all himself. There’s still incredible talent on hand in shortstop Xander Bogaerts, third baseman Rafael Devers and designated hitter J.D. Martinez. They should continue to make Boston’s offense a bear for enemy pitchers to deal with, while Verdugo, fellow outfielders Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. (if he’s not dealt), and catcher Christian Vazquez look like fine complementary pieces. That said, there’s no doubt Boston’s offense would have looked better had Betts remained a part of it.
Just as the Red Sox’s position player group took at least a short-term hit in this trade, so did its rotation. Price may not have been the all-world ace the Red Sox expected when they signed him to a then-record $217MM contract entering 2016, but he’s still an above-average starter. While injuries held Price to 107 1/3 innings last season, he did log a useful 4.28 ERA/3.62 FIP with 10.73 K/9 and 2.68 BB/9. Price was undoubtedly a top three starter on a team whose rotation didn’t get much from anyone else but Eduardo Rodriguez and Chris Sale a season ago.
Rodriguez and Sale are still on the roster, but there aren’t any sure things backing them up in Boston’s staff. Nathan Eovaldi will try to rebound from a horrid season, and the team brought in the relatively inexpensive Martin Perez (a back-end starter) in free agency. It’s up in the air who will occupy the fifth spot in the Red Sox’s rotation behind that quartet. As for the club’s bullpen, which endured its share of scrutiny last year, there haven’t been any especially notable additions this winter.
The 2019 campaign didn’t go as planned for the Red Sox, who entered with title aspirations but ended up winning a disappointing 84 games. They’ve since let go of their manager, Alex Cora, as a result of a sign-stealing scandal, and now the face of their franchise and one of their most reliable starters are also gone. Cora hasn’t been replaced yet, but his successor will be stepping into a drastically different situation than the one he oversaw. The Betts- and Price-less Red Sox are still a talented team, though, and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Monday that it’s still “realistic” to believe they’ll compete in 2020. Considering how their roster looks now, do you agree?
(Poll link for app users)
Battle for 3Rd in the east with Toronto at best
At worst*
I don’t believe Bloom is done. You have the financial flexibility now to add somebody, I am guessing trade and stay below CBT.
With new outfield addition today, somebody is trade bait, betting on JBJ. Verdugo to CF
I am personally glad trade went through the team was flat and mostly boring to watch and something had to be done. Granted you don’t want to trade Betts but it made sense as trying to resign him was going to be hard.
Trying to resign him was not going to be hard. It was going to be impossible. The Red Sox had to move him and got a lot more than the Orioles got for Machado because the Birds waited too long. You can add the Tigers meager return for Verlander as well. Not seeing Mookie in a Red Sox uniform sucks but the team will be good.
I agree team is going to be good
Bosoxforlife – i agree, Betts did not want to resign and the result of the trade was quality in return.
After each World Series win the roster has had much turnover leading into the next championship team 2004, 2007 look at the rotation change. 2013 was almost completely different. 2018 had fresh home grown talent. The trade was the only good option to Betts leaving for a draft pick (CBT rest was just icing on the cake).
Should and would have gotten more at the deadline.
i think losing Price will hurt the most with no clear replacement. hard to do well with Martin Perez as your #4
Hard to do well with Perez anywhere in your rotation.
Price is on the down escalator which is picking up speed as it is breaking down. Now he is only $48 million in dead money and Bloom has new found flexability. That part of the deal is at worst neutral and possibly a big win for the Red Sox
“Only” $48 million in dead money. Christ.
Darkside830, losing price will hurt the most ? I don’t think so! When price pitched he got hit and he got hit hard! That is when he pitched and wasn’t injured !
Losing a healthy Price. We don’t know what he will be, or what kind of bounce back Sale and Eovaldi will have in 2020. Pitchers are such wildcards, who would have thought they would all be so bad, and injured, last year?
This is not a wildcard-caliber team; pitching is decidedly weaker without Price (a gamer who pitched hurt last year) and Perez a downgrade from Porcello. No key addition to an offense now without Mookie, meaning JD gets pitched around some.
Porcello was terrible last year. I think this new guy is at least going to be better. Definitely not worse.
I’d be confident in saying porcello has a better year by FIP than perez, by far.
Era may be skewed by who has better defense. But remove the defensive backup and cello will win hands down.
E-Rod and Sale and pray for hail.
Ha. Nice
They’ll still win the AL East.
Stay off the weeeed!!!
Sure, they were 20 games back last year, lost thier best hitter and second best pitcher and the Spankees added perhaps the best pitcher in mlb
Seems like a good bet to win the division.
Anyone else find it hilarious that a guy named Jeter will be playing for the Red Sox?
He is named after Derek Jeter as well
I wonder if they flip him in another trade. They don’t really need more in the IF.
Sure they do. They need someone at the keystone, badly. They also haven’t had a legit prospect that you would/could shift there.
Downs is gping anywhere but fenway.
They just told their best position player (and 2nd best player in baseball) and arguably most reliable pitcher to beat it (paid one to play for the Dodgers), watched their franchise player basically fall apart once last time, fired their manager and the GM has already shown he’s going to need to warm up a bit before making big deals and people actually think this team will be better than last year. Nice. I see the logic. I really do.
The epidemic I’m worrying about is whatever going on up in Boston. Luckily it’s self contained. Phew.
Fewer than 80
Second question of the poll is missing:
“How much does JDM regret not opting out to sign with a contender at this point?”
At, he has Boras so I don’t think they care as long as the money flows.
Silly fans thinking players care about winning. Sure they want to win but not over making more $. Mookie wants to come back to Boston. No Mookie is going to love LA so much he will sign there. Mookie will go wherever the $ is. If a Baltimore or Detroit pays him a few million more he would go there. If JDM could of made more opting out he would have. If he was concerned about not contending he could of opted out and went to Tampa, they needed a DH.
He won a ring and is richer than God. I think he is probably ok.
They may win 85ish games due in no small part to beating up on Baltimore.
Baltimore might be beating up on them with the back end of that rotation
Yankee I agree with you. The Evil Empire may win 120 games reg season. This looks like a good day to bring the Brockstar back!!!!!!!
The article title misspelled “Bad”
Bring back holt take a flyer on a couple of veteran starters get ready for 2021
Stop with the Holt nonsense. There is a reason he is still unsigned.
I mean… it’s hard to gauge cause of how drastically different this team was the last two season and then moving away from arguably their best player, but regaining a solid player… idk. Just eyeballing their roster…. not gonna be very good this year. Their outfield will be, DH… but the rest of the lineup and most of that pitching staff is rough
The rest of the lineup other than outfield and DH will not be very good? Yeah, Boegarts and Devers are just awful.
Gonna be a rough year. Sale has to bounce back to his old self and E-Rod has to pick up where he left of last year to give us any shot at being a .500 team. Evo’s a wildcard here. I have no faith in Perez, and we have no 5th starter. So even with a stellar offense which just got weaker by trading Betts off the team, it’s gonna be a struggle.
Boston should look to trim another contract (Sale/Evoldi) their Farm system stinks and they are way over committed salary wise. If they manage to shed more salary they can re tool on the fly. Sale starts with a bang he will be moveable, Angels make sense but then so do a lot of teams. Good luck Red Sox nation
Sale wouldn’t need a bang, he’d need a sonic boom to be movable. He’s on a terrible contract at this point compared to whats happened, and has had some issues the last few years. I’d expect he with boston at least a couple years if not the long haul.
Agreed, don’t think there are any pieces left that have value and the Sox are willing to lose.
Of course they’d love to trade JBJ, Eovaldi, etc. problem is no one else wants them either
This team is Dead On Arrival ! Absolutely no 4th and 5th starter and two pitchers with injury history. They picked up no help for the bullpen. This team is going to be sold !!! How does Henry and Bloom look the Fans in the eye and say this team is better. At least Force Pedroia to retire already and stop this comeback nonsense which is on it 3rd year already.
Mookie was a good player and I’m not saying he is as good as Trout, but he deserved about 350 million.
You can thank Machado for Peddys problems. That slide of Machardo’s took him out never to be right again.
Pedroia was hurt 3 years ago. Come on already what is he going to do this BS comeback crap for another two years?
Yes, he is. That’s how he gets paid
Question: not being a Red Sox follower: did Mookie say he would not sign with Boston once he became a free agent? Because if he did not say that then why not keep Mookie and try to move Price by himself for a couple young arms from what I think they would have several suitors since they are willing to pay half of Prices salary.
In a perfect world the Price scenario works, but he has not pitched much with injuries from playing too many video games.
Mookie said he is testing the market. He was not going to sign an extension with Boston before free agency. He did not say he would not sign with them as a free agent but as a free agent Boston is just another team.
Boston was not going to risk losing him for just one draft pick as he was not going to sign without being a free agent
I like Brock, but Bloom needs to spend on getting pitching.
This team is Dead On Arrival ! Absolutely no 4th and 5th starter and two pitchers with injury history. They picked up no help for the bullpen. This team is going to be sold !!! How does Henry and Bloom look the Fans in the eye and say this team is better. At least Force Pedroia to retire already and stop this comeback nonsense which is on it 3rd year already.
Mookie was a good player and I’m not saying he is as good as Trout, but he deserved about 350 million. They will run Bloom out of town in two years. He is going to be remembered for trading one of our best players.
This team just does stupid things with their stars like Wade Boggs, Johnny Damon, Roger Clemens, and now Mookie Betts
Ownership traded Betts. Blooms job was to get the best return possible. Don’t blame the fall guy.
They can’t force Pedroia to retire. They can pay him his $ to sit at home or release him. He can play as long as somebody wants his services.
Sale, Eovaldi and Rodriquez all have health issues and you have no idea who the 4th and 5th starters are. They could lose less than 80 but the offense is still too good that an above .500 record is possible. I am surprised they didn’t take shots at Walker and Smyly as they have nothing young or veteran to stick in there right now that has shown anything.
Bloom has turned this team into a complete train wreck! Hire a Manager for Gods sake already.
I am a time traveler back from Halloween Eve 2020.
Here is what happened during the MLB season.
Betts signed with LAD during Spring Training for 10 years, $375M. Turns out, he really wanted out of Boston.
2020 performances:
Betts: 21 HR, .285 AVG – Dodgers immediately regret signing him.
Price: 11-6, 3.85 ERA – Misses at least 5 starts with injuries.
Verdugo: 15 HR, .290 AVG – Nice player.
Downs: AAA 20 HR, .320 AVG – Top 10 prospect.
Wong: AAA 22 HR, .260 AVG – Top 100 prospect.
Graterol: AAA 2-2, 4.50 ERA – Injury problems.
Dodgers get to WS, but lose. Price gets bombed by NYY. Betts bats .115 in WS.
Red Sox win 90+ and wild card spot.
I like it. I think Verdugo will put up better numbers than people think. Fenway for 81 vs Dodger stadium.
Let me guess, you are a Sox fan? Verdugo, Price and Betts-I can see all of that happening. As for Downs and Wong-Wow! You expect them both to go immediately up to AAA after Downs had just 50-AB and Wong 150-AB in AA. And you expect Downs BA to increase by 44 points when he moves up instead of going down like everyone else? Not expecting much, are you?
I predict Will Myers will hit .280/.350 30-HR 30-SB in 2020. See, I can do this too! Mine is actually far more likely since Will Myers has actually just missed a 30/30 season by 2-HR and 2-SB.
@Javia. Remember I am from the future. These aren’t predictions. I am just reporting to you what happened. Evidently, Downs improved on his AA average of .333. Oh, Wil Myers hit 19 HRs and batted .244.
48 AB of .333 at AA. 412 AB of .269 at A+. Should we believe the sample that is 1/9 the size? As far as Myers-
2016-.259 28-HR 28-SB
2017-.243 30-HR 20-SB
Yes it was a few years ago, but he has actually had good results at the ml level.
Downs .276 24-HR 24-SB line, 85% of which was done in A+ ball, translates to MAYBE .240 10/10 in mlb.
I’ll say two things to that.
Downs is still very young. He is growing into his abilities and is 6-7 years away from his peak. He is also younger than his competition. Project ability of stats for a guy 3 yrs younger than his peers is different than one 3 yrs older than his peers even with the same stat line at the same level.
He also has done nothing at mlb level and could be 100% bust before doing so.
Myers has peaked and is now entering the down spin of his career arc. Very few players exceed in their early 30s what they did in their mid 20s, and fewer match that production than those who do not.
In a world of what-have-you-done-for-me-lately, in a game that has shifted more towards youth by the year, myers hasn’t shown enough lately, and is entering the wrong side of the age arc to turn it around.
In the absolute BEST full season of his entire playing career myers hit .259 with a .797 ops. In 7 seasons he has also exceeded 90 games only 3 times.
I don’t see anything to argue myers is a particularly good investment as a player as he gets older, but I do think he can be a good purchase to literally buy prospects and toss him on the garbage heap.
WITH Mookie and Price, it all depended on Sale and Eovoldi. WITHOUT Mookie and Price, it all depends on Sale and Eovoldi.
Too much offense and OF defense to force them under .500, but too many questions (pitching, Verdugo’s lackadaisical play, IF defense, oh ya, who’s the manager?) to think they’ll be much above it.
Everyone in the outfield is a left handed hitter. Did Bloom think about this ?
Not a huge problem… who’s the big lefty starters in the al east – Ryu/Snell are probably the best. Beyond that it’s a massive drop off in talent. You’ve got a huge number of games against a righty heavy al east, and what lefties there are just aren’t that great.
Next year I’d be surprised to see JBJ return… heck it’s not that surprising to imagine he’s gone by opening day THIS year.
I don’t think, at least as currently set up, the LH heavy OF hurts anything. Unless you’re scared of guys like happ.
Verdugo can hit leftys anyways.
Cheer up, Red Sox fans. As a Pirates fan, I can tell you that bobble head and fireworks nights are wonderful, and you’ll love the pierogi races
I know…we might have to wait another year or two before another WS win. It is horrible.
LOL. Dream on
92 wins
87-75, 3rd place in the AL East.
87-75, 3rd place in the AL East.
They got worse, I was tempted to say 85-89, but I went with 80-84, because they ultimately got worse when other teams got better.
I want to go on a rant though. All the people saying that Martin Perez is a dumpster are wrong, but for other reasons than what you might suspect. He will be good… almost all game… there will be ONE INNING where he absolutely sucks, but all the other innings he is almost untouchable. Normally either the 1st inning, or the 4th inning is where he will fall, and give up like 3 runs, but he will go about 6 innings each start. Good pitcher, but for some reason just one inning bites him… coming from a Rangers fan, so I’d know.
Thats like saying you almost always win every hand of hold ’em… until the river.
End of the day you’re going home broke, a loser.
Sox have plenty of experience with pitchers who always get bit by the big inning. Problem is, that doesn’t help the bottom line, and you still lose.
Red Sox, even without Betts, will have one of the best lineups in baseball. The pitching staff, though? Ouch. Who knows what Sale will be, the dominant force of the past or the broken down shell we saw last year? Eovaldi has nasty stuff, but it’s almost a guarantee he lands on the DL for an extended period of time. Can Rodriguez replicate last year? Does Perez stand at chance in the AL East?
Yankees and Rays are the clear favorites in the division, and it would take a miracle for the Red Sox to be able to end up better than 3rd.
Why didn’t the Sox ask for a Starting pitcher in return for the Best player in the AL East and a former CY Young Award winner? Their record will be dismal because of their lack of pitching; their offense should be fine.
I am sure they did. Guaranteed they at least asked for May. LA just wouldn’t give any of them up.
2019. 84 and 78. You give up a 6.8 war player and a 1.9 war starting pitcher. You get a 3.1 war outfielder and two minor leaguers and neither are pitchers.
In arguably the best division in baseball. Sorry Red Sox fans: 80 wins at best
That’s brilliant. No additional wins from healthy Sale and Eovaldi? Red Sox will win 95 and make the playoffs.
That offense alone will get them to .500. I’m sure the Sox aren’t done looking for starting pitchers either.
Wow. All the negative comments on here. You people are a joke for even posting Your just stupid idiots that trash talk have nothing better to do then jerk off. Verbal
diarrhea comes to mind.
Let’s see how the stinkies make out between the lines .
As for the Sox ,still a good team just needs a starter ,let’s see what Bloom does .
It’s just the preseason. Nobody wins in the preseason. No trophies are rewarded until the end of the regular season and playoffs.
Red Sox are a team headed the wrong way. Still have some good players but the Farm is weak. They are not challenging the Yankees and the Rays are probably better than them now. Maybe they get 83 wins and finish 3. I thought they would have tried to sign and rebuild around Betts. Looking more like a reality check with Bloom brought in for a new way of doing things.
This might be awhile. My guess is they look for some sucker team for Sale and JD Martinez contracts either at trading deadline or next offseason.
The Red Sox are the new Angels. Great offense, one ace, and that’s about it. Except they don’t have Mike Trout or Mookie so there’s that. 84 wins this season for Boston.
Possibly, but the offseason isn’t over yet. Verdugo can handle RF – but is he also the leadoff guy (or Benintendi?)
Of course Mookie will be missed… but a lineup starting with Benintendi, Bogaerts, Devers and Martinez should be able to score plenty of runs. The pitching is where there is still work to be done. Need a starter. Badly. If this is the rotation come April with Velasquez as the 5th starter… this team may not win more games than they lose this year.
I hope verdugo can handle leadoff.
Benintendi didn’t do as well hitting up top for whatever reason, and I doubt anything has changed in that regard.
Management turnover will be the biggest issue. Second will be pitching staff. Red Sox are a well ran franchise but they seem primed for a down year. Bogaerts may be on the block this summer !
83 wins and make the post season as the 4th wild card.
It’s going to take 92-95 wins to secure a wild card in the AL this year. Oakland & Tampa have to be the favorites to do so (unless Oakland leapfrogs Houston) and then there is the Indians/Twins race, an improved Angels team to consider and a potentially sneaky-good Toronto team too. Whichever AL teams win the wildcards will certainly deserve it!
Who are 1 or 2 vet sp they can sign this late?
Taijuan Walker, Matt Harvey, Danny Santana, Jason Vargas, Andrew Cashner, Drew Smyly and old friend Clay Buchholz is still out there too!
Clay buchholz, now there’s a guy who would make graterol’s medicals look as pristine as a newborn babe!
Smyly signed with the Giants…
Six years of Verduci better than one of Betts. Nice to save the 75 million as well. Would say that LA got bf’d.
The Sox should really consider signing Taijuan Walker so long as the Cubs do not after today’s workout. If not, they are going to be forced into a deal for someone like Matt Harvey or Andrew Cashner (gulp). Given that the rest of their starters haven’t been going deep into games lately (E-rod is the one exception), going with an opener as their 5th starter would be a bad idea. They will burn out their bullpen unless they keep a Boston to Pawtucket shuttle running 24/7. Bloom did add some depth the BP this year and most have minor league options so perhaps this is their plan to start the season? I’d prefer having a #5 starter to lean on with Houck as a potential fill in as needed. Sox will need to win a lot of 8-6 games if they hope to secure a wild card berth.
Honestly, and this isn’t my bias talking, the only thing keeping Boston from finishing dead last in the East is the fact they Baltimore is making even less of an effort to win baseball games.
Ahead of the yanks but behind the Rays.
I don’t see why the Dodgers made this deal. Betts is a great player, but Verdugo is young, inexpensive and a solid outfielder. He will do great in a hitters park like Fenway. Betts will do well in LA, I just think he’s a luxury for them and he wasn’t a need.
Price should do well in LA. A big park with a great team behind him. He will get plenty of support. He’s their number 3 starter… he will be a very solid starter for them.
Dodgers really need a couple solid arms in the pen. Other than that, they are great.
Red Sox need 2 more starters at least. Eovaldi, Perez and Hall as your 3,4,5 will be brutal. Maybe they stay healthy… Maybe Velazquez and Johnson find their inner Pedro… but that’s a lot of wishing and hoping…..
Trade JBJ for pitching and sign Puig. Verdugo is your CF, Puig in right, and something halfway decent at the back of the rotation. And the Sox really should bring back Holt too.
JBJ for what type of pitcher, exactly? JBJ isn’t exactly going to command top notch arms unless he is packaged in a deal. Red Sox just need to bench JBJ against lefties and sign a RH CF bat like Pillar (who hit’s lefties well, look it up).
Nice call!
If Sale goes back to being Sale and pitching can stay healthy the Red Sox have a chance to reach the postseason again. The bats are still good enough to beat teams.
Every team has a bunch of ifs as well
Bullpen was bad last year and no improvements
As a DIE hard red sox fan im glad this happened, for the following reasons- remember when texas signed alex Rodriquez to a 10 year deal then after 3 traded him cause they went bankrupt? or were on the verge to? Signing betts would have been similar, they would have owed him so much and not been able to do anything, look at what they did in 2012 by trading players to the dodgers they went out and got good medicore core players that got them the best world championship in the 4 they won, it was the most talented together team they ever had, even more than 04′ Now they can sign atleast 2 starting pitchers that are average and build the farm system, im sry betts wasnt that good and not worth the money, nobody is. And as far as David price, i hated him in tampa detriot toronto and here, he had 1 good month out of 4 years, bye price you never should have been on my team or apart of my city, every second of the backlash you deserved, you hated the fans and showed nothing to us at any point in your time here.
and they STILL have one of best offences in baseball, whatever shortcomings the pitching staff will allow we will bash our ways to win, i love how all of a sudden the red sox are a ‘bad team’ according to most people, im sry but we arent the marlins
Just because you are not the Markins does not make Boston a good team.
Sorry but Boston is going nowhere. They do not stink but they are not pennant contenders either
Trick question, they are not.
Their biggest problem last year was the back end of the bullpen. They didn’t do anything to address that. I have no issue that they let Kimbrel walk, but how can a contender go into the next 2 seasons without a closer?
Outrageous
The sox just signed Cesar Puello! Too bad there isnt a 150-162 win season option up there