Boston Red Sox: Mookie Betts wanted to stay in Boston

Mookie Betts wanted to stay in Boston and that makes the Boston Red Sox look even worse.

It’s hard to say that we were shocked that Mookie Betts was traded but when it happened it was like a punch to the gut. The Boston Red Sox had traded away their best player.

2019 had already been one horrible year for the team. With the whole cheating scandal, there was already a black cloud over the Red Sox organization but at least we could hold on to the sweet swing of Betts.

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Now there isn’t a lot to look forward to in 2019. The Red Sox don’t have a manager and are now without their best player.

Betts wanted a monster payday. He was asking for around $420 million dollars and the Red Sox didn’t want to pay him.

Would I have paid the man? Yes. But I am your average joe and not a GM of a professional sports team.

But what makes this deal worse is that Mookie Betts wanted to stay in Boston. All Boston had to do was pay him what he is worth.

"“I asked him about [the trade],” Rice told The Leadoff Spot. “He came out and said, ‘Look this is my home. I don’t want to go anywhere else. I don’t care what people have said or what they’re talking about, this is my home. And I want to stay here.’ And then I talked to him last night and he said ‘Look, I’m gonna tell you, and I told you before, I wanted to stay.’ And he said it was a business deal. And he said ‘I can’t do anything about it. It was a business deal and they chose to go that way, and I have to accept it.’”"

Betts didn’t owe anything to the Red Sox. If anything Boston owed him for his great play. Betts was MVP in 2018. He was a major reason they won a World Series.

All Bets wanted was to be fairly paid. As one of the best players in baseball, I can’t really blame him.

Boston’s owners are billionaires. They have paid the luxury tax for plenty of years. Why do you all of a sudden have to stop now when you need to re-sign your most important player.

Mookie Betts wanted to be the face of the franchise for the rest of his career but the Boston Red Sox didn’t want to pony up and pay Betts what he deserved.