Xander Bogaerts Could Recruit Mookie Betts Back to Boston After Dodgers Trade

Mookie Betts has almost certainly played his final game in Red Sox colors after Boston traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Alex Verdugo and Jeter Downs.

Betts is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of this season, and that window is giving Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts hope that he could re-sign with Boston.

“Hey, you know...probably, maybe in a year,” Bogaerts said. “We’ll see how that goes. He knows what he means to us and we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Betts, who was the AL MVP in 2018 after hitting .346 with 32 home runs while leading the Red Sox to an eventual World Series championship, is in line for what could be a record-breaking contract.

Despite the best efforts of Bogaerts, Chaim Bloom and John Henry don't seem willing to pay market value for Betts, which makes a return very unlikely.

A return to Boston after one of the most drawn-out, prolonged trade sagas in recent memory seems almost impossible for Betts, but Bogaerts seems intent on at least giving it the old college try to see if there is even a one percent chance Betts returns.