I’m sure Friedman was thinking extension and fairly confident in getting it done. Otherwise why include Verdugo?
Bloom might have suspected this, but Friedman certainly never tipped his hand.
But what other teams were even involved in rumors? At the time it looked like the Sox only shot at keeping Betts was to deal him, reset, and hope it all worked out...
And given how their off-season went, they also would have very possibly extended him. No team looked more prime to spend then the Padres, since they had an elite farm of cheap players to fill the gaps and their GM was under the gun to produce a winner, per the owner.
Of the two, the Dodgers might have been the least likely, given that they had other potential mega deals coming up in the immediate future, primarily that of Cody Bellinger. (The Padres had Tatis, but there was no rush to lock him up just yet since he hasm't even reached arbitration.)
So if the sox kept him last year, he would have gone elsewhere via free agency since the Sox would probably not be able to afford him unless they cleared massive salaries elsewhere (Bogaerts and ?) And if they dealt him, the only two teams showing interest were both primed with cash to spend on an extension. So - who offers the best package? And was San Diego still trying to pawn off Myers as part of that deal? Plus not willing to take Price?
Very true, but clearly one main objective was to reset the tax and maybe even stay near the line for a year or two afterwards. Had we extended or re-signed Betts and kept the same budget restraints in place, it would mean going with in system or very inexpensive players at several other positions over the next 10 years.
Now, that doesn't mean it can't be done. We've had a very large contract on the books pretty consistently, or at least 2-3 players over $20M/yr for many years since Henry's arrival.
Look how Price's contract became a hindrance by just year 3 or 4 out of just 7.
Clearly the Sox could "afford" Betts, but at what cost to the rest of the roster construction going forward? I think the Sox made the choice that having Betts was not worth having Verdugo, Downs, Wong and the money from not signing Betts to spend on several free agents and/or extensions.
I do wonder when and if we'll ever sign anybody to a 7 or more year contract- maybe if they are 26 or 27 years old.
Sox 4 Ever
I fully expect Betts to have several additional years of good performance, barring injuries. He is getting paid more than $30 million a year and should produce. The risk is high that he will either get injured or will decline after 5 years, but his salary will remain.
Mookie would not have eliminated the Sox, but IMO, the Sox would have had to been the highest bidder by a fair amount. I don't think that was happening, otherwise they wouldn't have let him go in the first place. So maybe the Sox did take into consideration that the Dodgers would extend him.
I'm not sure it matters. I think the Sox knew they were not going to sign him had he reached free agency, either.
We got Verdugo, Downs, Wong and a mess of money saved for 60 games of Betts.
As much as I wanted Betts, here- maybe more than anybody else, that's a winning deal.
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This is the first year of Mookie's extension.
He's been struggling lately.
He missed some games with lower back stiffness. Then he got hit in the right forearm by a pitch.
12 year contracts are risky business.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
I'm not sure it matters. I think the Sox knew they were not going to sign him had he reached free agency, either.
We got Verdugo, Downs, Wong and a mess of money saved for 60 games of Betts.
As much as I wanted Betts, here- maybe more than anybody else, that's a winning deal.I liked the Betts trade from the start. You offer the guy 300 m, as the Red Sox did, and that wasn't good enough for him. You don't want players like that on your team.This is the first year of Mookie's extension.
He's been struggling lately.
He missed some games with lower back stiffness. Then he got hit in the right forearm by a pitch.
12 year contracts are risky business.
"Fans have become more entitled than anything. So they're starting to question our motives for the game, or how we approach the game. The ones that do question -- like who are you? Just shut up and watch the game tonight." --Kevin Durant on players' lack of effort in regular season games.