Boston Red Sox positioned as winners of the Mookie Betts trade

Will the Boston Red Sox trade of Mookie Betts be a windfall for Boston?

The 2020 Boston Red Sox season is in flux as Major League Baseball will shorten the season if they play at all as the current pandemic has mandated that MLB take all necessary precautions, as they should, to protect their players and personnel from the coronavirus.

Trades that have been finalized are done. One of them was the blockbuster trade sending one of the top five players in MLB to the Los Angeles Dodgers from the Red Sox, Mookie Betts. In return, Boston received three solid minor league players in the transaction.

Betts will be a free agent after the 2020 season.

Now, since current times have disrupted the major league season and cost at a very minimum 1/3 of this season’s games, speculation has been raised about the possibility of Betts never playing a game for Los Angeles before becoming a free agent. It is possible.

So, as an observer who felt that the trade was unfortunate but necessary in light of Betts’ determination to enter free agency, no matter what, the trade may wind up a windfall for Boston. This is despite criticism of the trade by many in the city. They may all have been shortsighted.

I had always thought that the most logical place for Betts to be traded to was the Dodgers.

A few reasons.

First, Betts would be in the National League, not an immediate threat to Boston;

Second, the Dodgers had a surplus of talent in their farm system to satisfy Boston’s desire to replenish their depleted farm system. That was a must;

Third, LA had the cash and probably the motivation to sign Betts to the lucrative long-term contract he wants after entering free agency after the 2020 MLB season; and,

Fourth, LA was a pretty nice place to live, after all, was it not? Why not re-sign there if the money is there.

So, the logical place to trade Betts, in my mind at least, was the LA Dodgers. No question about that at all.