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Mookie Betts Will Be a Dodger for the Rest of His Career…Let That Sink In

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It was already a great day to be a baseball fan in general with the start of the 2020 MLB season just 24 hours away…but now it’s an incredible day for Dodgers fans in particular. Of course, I’m referring to the 12-year, $365 million extension Mookie Betts just signed with the Dodgers this afternoon. I’ll be the first to admit that the rich just got richer, being that the Dodgers already have a stacked lineup that features reigning NL MVP Cody Bellinger, alongside All-Stars Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Joc Pederson, and Max Muncy. However, as great as those guys are, nothing is promised in this league. That’s why when you have the opportunity to sign one of the top three players in baseball, you do so.

Since this news broke I’ve seen a lot of people say that the Dodgers are just buying a championship team, that they have an embarrassment of riches, that they don’t really need Mookie. Do these people have a point? Maybe. Do I think they’re just jealous? Absolutely.

Let’s take a little stroll down memory lane. The Dodgers traded for Yu Darvish in 2017, bolstering their starting rotation that already included Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill, and Hyun-Jin Ryu. They won the N.L. Pennant, and you know the rest. Fast forward to 2018…the Dodgers trade for Manny Machado, adding another solid bat to a lineup that features most of the stars currently on their roster. Once again, they won the N.L. Pennant, but you know how that October ended. My point here is that it is really fucking hard to win the World Series, even if you have the best team on paper. This isn’t basketball, where one player can win you a championship. Baseball (usually) has a grueling 162-game schedule in which every single player down to the last guy in the bullpen needs to contribute in order to win a championship.

Now, will the Dodgers win more games with Mookie Betts in their lineup vs. without him? Yeah, probably! All I’m trying to say is that his addition doesn’t guarantee a championship. And until the Dodgers do win a championship, I don’t want to hear it.

Now that I’ve dealt with the haters, I just want to say that this was undoubtedly the most exciting thing that’s happened to me in at least five months, and arguably the best Dodgers moment since Puig’s homer in the 2018 World Series. I’m still so caught up in Betts’ signing that I’m not even considering what this means for other expensive Dodgers like Bellinger, Seager, Kershaw, and Turner, (who are all due to get paid soon), or whether or not I think we’ll even finish this baseball season once it starts. I’m just enjoying the moment and hoping there isn’t an opt-out clause after three years or some shit.

Regardless of who you root for, just be excited that baseball is back in our lives as of 7 P.M. EST tomorrow and that hopefully, you’re not a Red Sox fan.

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Sports Illustrated Hates Mookie Betts

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New Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani, the Angels’ two-way “sensation” recently landed the cover of Sports Illustrated. I think it’s great that they got two of the area’s best players to grace the cover in what should be an exciting season for both franchises. However, I do have an issue with the cover. The first thing that struck me when I saw the cover was how considerably taller Ohtani is than Betts. The second thing (which I have a problem with) is that Betts is looking up at Ohtani. Imagery is a powerful thing, and when I look at this cover, it seems to me like Sports Illustrated is saying that Mookie is the one with something to prove. Ohtani looks like a seasoned vet while Mookie looks like some young prospect that just got called up and is staring at his idol. Any time a guy has to angle his head more than 45 degrees up he’s better off not looking up at all or just praying there isn’t a camera around to capture the size differential. In Mookie’s case, both things happened, and he’s stuck resembling Ralphie in A Christmas Story looking up at Santa Claus.

Mookie Betts is a former MVP, World Series Champion, 4x All-Star, 3x Silver Slugger, and 4x Gold Glove winner, yet he’s looking up to Ohtani?? His only accolades include winning Rookie of the year back in 2018 and being the most over-hyped player in baseball. I’ll acknowledge that he has great potential, but I’m the type of person that needs to see it to believe it…and Ohtani hasn’t been overly impressive yet; its probably because he’s only played just over 100 games in each of his first two seasons. Once he can stay healthy for an entire year and puts up some Betts-esque numbers, I’ll put some respect on his name.

The only pose that wouldn’t come off as disrespectful to Betts is if they were both facing the camera – I don’t care if they’re smiling or not, just facing the camera. Even if they were facing each other, Betts would look inferior due to his height, being that he’d still be forced to look up at Ohtani. I demand a re-shoot.

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The Dodgers Have Pulled off the Biggest Trade in Franchise History

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We had been hearing rumors about a Red Sox/Dodgers trade for a while now, but it has finally happened. It seemed like the Dodgers were the frontrunners all along, since it was inevitable that the Red Sox were going to make a trade, but I can’t believe it actually happened. The Dodgers (with the exception of Manny Machado) never make big moves like this in the offseason. They don’t generally sign big free agents and they don’t make big trades. They develop talent through their farm system and build from within (Kershaw, Buehler, Bellinger).

But this move tells me that they are doing whatever they can to win a World Series title next year, and I fucking love it. This fan base has suffered far too long and come too close in recent years of a title, and I’m so glad the front office is making moves. This definitely softened the blow of missing out on Gerrit Cole earlier this offseason, when he chose to sign with the Yankees.

Of course, the Dodgers were forced to part ways with several fan favorites, as Alex Verdugo, Kenta Maeda, and Joc Pederson were all traded. Verdugo is a young outfielder who will no doubt continue excel as he gets more playing time. There will probably be some backlash from Dodger fans about Verdugo because he was beloved by the Hispanic fanbase…most notably for his signature walkout song “Volver Volver”.

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Kenta Maeda over the past few seasons, but I was really starting to like him more recently in a relief role. And last but not least, Joc Pederson, who is just heading about 45 minutes south to Anaheim, will surely be missed. Yeah he struck out a lot and was frustrating to watch at times, but he’d show flashes of greatness that made you think he could really be a “guy”. He is also one of the most charismatic guys in the league, and he’ll be missed as a clubhouse presence for sure.

However, despite how much these former Dodgers will be missed, they just traded for MOOKIE FUCKING BETTS and DAVID PRICE. Betts is inarguably a top three player MLB right now, and David Price, despite an injury-riddled 2019, is still effective. The Dodgers still have Chris Taylor, Enrique Hernandez, and A.J. Pollock to fill in the outfield, alongside Betts and Bellinger, so offloading Verdugo and Pederson is great from a consistency aspect for the other players. And with losing Ryu and now Maeda, adding Price will solidify the missing arm in the rotation.

However, the biggest win for the Dodgers in this trade is that they didn’t give up any prospects. You can consider Verdugo a prospect if you want, but in my mind he is now an everyday MLB player, and no longer a prospect. They were able to hang on to Gavin Lux and Dustin May, which were thought to have been trade pieces initially. I don’t think there’s a baseball analyst out there who could say Andrew Friedman was anything short of amazing in putting this deal together. The holes the Dodgers had were filled, and gained far more than they lost. It’s safe to say the Dodgers are CLEAR frontrunners to win the 2020 title…mostly because Betts and Price really know how to win a title in LA (2018).

 

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Two Years Post-World Series, How Likely Is Betts/Price Trade With Dodgers?

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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:

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.

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