According to a report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the Dodgers are in discussions to land outfielder Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have engaged in exploratory trade talks with the Boston Red Sox about former MVP outfielder Mookie Betts, according to two officials with direct knowledge of the discussions.
The officials spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the talks publicly.
The Dodgers’ top priority remains Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor, but if the two sides can’t agree on a package for the All-Star, the Dodgers could turn its attention to Boston.
The Red Sox are much more inclined to trade Betts – who’s projected to earn $27-30 million in his final year before free agency – than Cleveland is with Lindor. The Red Sox, who had baseball’s highest payroll at $244 million, and will pay $13 million in luxury tax penalties, want to slash their payroll to be under the $208 million tax threshold in 2020.
I wouldn’t be unhappy if the Dodgers were to trade away Corey Seager, but it’s still a weird move to me. It’s clear that the Dodgers are aiming to land a power bat, now that Francisco Lindor and Mookie Betts have entered the conversation. They want more protection around Cody Bellinger, and either of those two guys will add immense firepower to an already stacked lineup.
In my opinion, I would rather land Betts than Lindor, being that Seager is still a solid shortstop; don’t forget he finished third in MVP voting three years ago and was coming off Tommy John this season. Seager still led the league in doubles this season with 44, though his average did dip a bit. The fact of the matter is that he is still an above-average shortstop, plus they have Gavin Lux over at second base, which makes for a pretty solid middle infield.
What makes Betts a better addition IMO is that aside from Bellinger, the Dodgers’ outfield has been a revolving door the past couple seasons between Kiké Hernandez, Joc Pederson, A.J. Pollock, Matt Beaty and Alex Verdugo. The reason they get switched out so often is because none of them are all that great at hitting, which adding Mookie Betts will fix. Come to think of it… Cody B works in at first base often as well, so even he’s gotta get used to single position! There are just way too many guys to be balancing out there every day, and I think they could use some consistency…which is exactly what Mookie Betts will bring on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
Then of course there was the MLB Network opinion of what a trade including Betts and David Price to the Dodgers would look like:
Former Rockies GM and current MLB Network analyst Dan O’Dowd laid out a potential framework of a Mookie Betts-David Price deal, how do you feel about his hypothetical? #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/bCIhDbbJtE
— DLD #HollywoodLifestyle (@DodgersLowDown) December 18, 2019
Although he’s not what he used to be, Price would be a nice little addition to their staff. In this hypothetical trade, the Dodgers would give up a few prospects, but prospects don’t pan out all the time, so I don’t get that worked up when teams let go of them. Plus, I’ve been wanting the Dodgers to add a starting pitcher, and although he’s not top of the line, I’d be fine with adding Price to the rotation.
Comments are closed.