If anyone was holding out hope of Mookie Betts returning to Boston in free agency over the offseason, they are not going to be happy. Mookie Betts will be getting paid after all. The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed Mookie to a 12-year extension worth $365 million.
This is an odd economic landscape for a team to be making that kind of financial commitment, especially after the owners have been complaining about money the past few months, but the Dodgers didn’t want to let Betts get away after acquiring him from the Red Sox this winter for outfielder Alex Verdugo and two prospects.
If Red Sox management was betting on getting another opportunity , they really blew it here. The Sox essentially traded away a generational player in Mookie to save money. They will have to piece together a contender quickly over the next few years or the echoes of disgruntled Sox fans will grow louder.
Betts, 27, would become a free agent after this season if he is not signed. Betts hit .295/.391/.524 with 29 home runs, 80 RBI, 16 stolen bases, and 135 runs scored in 150 games last season with Boston. He was named the American League MVP in 2018.