Rivals Believe Red Sox 'More Serious Than Ever' About Trading Mookie Betts With Dodgers and Padres Leading the Pack
By Brendan Balsamo
If there's one prediction we're willing to make before Spring Training, it's that Mookie Betts won't be a part of the Boston Red Sox by the time the team reports to Florida.
MLB Network insider Jon Heyman reported on Tuesday that league officials have become even more confident that a trade for the All-Star outfielder is likely to happen, and those talks are spearheaded by the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres.
Sense is that Red Sox seem more serious than ever about a Mookie Betts deal, and rivals are starting to think a trade may happen. Dodgers and Padres are teams most often publicly linked though no sense yet who may be most likely.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 28, 2020
It would seem that Betts, one of the best outfielders in the game, either wants a massive payday from the Sox, or he wants out. It was just reported earlier on Tuesday that Betts was offered a 10-year, $300 million deal from the Red Sox earlier in the offseason, but he declined and countered with a 12-year, $420 million deal.
.@LouMerloni says the #Redsox offered Mookie Betts a 10 years, $300M deal in the 2019 offseason. Mookie countered with 12 years, $420M
— OMF (@OMFonWEEI) January 28, 2020
Lou says Mookie and the Sox have been off by $100M or more in the past 3 negotiations not including this past offseason pic.twitter.com/zfMt2n1Ske
While no possible deals have been made public from the Dodgers, packages from the Padres have reportedly been revealed by MLB insiders on Twitter, including one that would involve San Diego's top prospect Luis Campusano and veteran Wil Myers.
In the Mookie Betts trade talks, catching prospect Luis Campusano is one player the Red Sox have expressed interest in. The Padres value him highly; Campusano, a Cal League co-MVP last season, is 79th on Baseball America’s top-100 list.
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) January 24, 2020
It seems best for the Red Sox to send Betts on his way, as he is demanding Mike Trout-type money from Boston. The Padres, a team trying to make it back to the playoffs, and the Dodgers, a franchise in pursuit of its first World Series in thirty years, could both really use an MVP-caliber outfielder like Betts.