Red Sox Already Won the Mookie Betts Trade With the Dodgers Because of Reported 2020 Service-Time Agreement

What would any year of baseball be without the Boston Red Sox getting unreasonably lucky? For everything that's gone horribly wrong for the team this offseason -- Chris Sale getting Tommy John surgery, Alex Verdugo missing time with a back injury before logging an at-bat, etc. -- the trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers involving Mookie Betts and David Price is seemingly going to work out in Boston's favor.

According to reports, the MLB and MLBPA have tentatively agreed to a deal that would grant all players a full year of service time no matter how long the 2020 season is, assuming it resumes at some point. So that means the Dodgers made this deal to get just barely over a half-season of Betts, while the Red Sox get years of team control over Alex Verdugo and Jeter Downs.

In what world does trading your best homegrown star since Ted Williams work out in your favor? This is never-before-seen stuff, but it at least makes sense for a team like the Red Sox, who have been infinitely blessed since 2004.

As for the Dodgers, this continues their trend of horribly bad luck. After getting cheated out of the World Series in 2017 and getting romped by the Red Sox in the Fall Classic in 2018, LA geared up to rip through the league in 2020 by acquiring Betts and David Price to join their already stacked roster and pitching staff.

Now they'll have to hope Betts is ready to go from the jump whenever the season starts. He won't have much room for error, especially if we're looking at season somewhere between 80-100 games.

Red Sox fans can thank the coronavirus pandemic for miraculously easing the blow of inexplicably trading their best player.