The Red Sox backed themselves into a financial corner here by making the classic mistake of trying to keep the 2018 WS winning band together, signing Pearce the MVP who got hot for a series, extending an injured Sale when they really didn't have to and resigning Eovaldi, the hero of a game they didn't even win. Paying players for past performance vs future performance is a classic overreach.
And sorry; if the reports are true that they offered Betts 10/300 he countered with 12/420, that tells me he really does not want to be here and is bound and determined to test the free agent waters, a right he's earned and he obviously wants to explore.
You can argue all you want that they did not get enough, but they were not dealing from a position of strength here.
Best of luck to you Mookie.
THis. 100% This.
Hey everyone, can we PLEASE remember the following:
1. Unloading Price's contract is the third asset in the deal, and it's a big one. Price does not bring an asset back, he costs an asset to unload.
2. Waiting until the trade deadline would be stupid, because it would prevent the Sox from resetting against the cap and, more than likely, not generate any better a return.
3. And if the Sox are over the cap, the draft pick compensation they'd receive after Mookie walks is minuscule (a third-rounder, big whoop).
4. This is speculation on my part, but I think it's reasonable to assume that the Red Sox do not feel confident they can re-sign Mookie after he hits free agency. They've made him proposals and lived with him and his agent for 7-8 years now and ought to have a pretty good feel for this situation.
Any trade involving Mookie, is disappointing, but it sure as hell isn't stupid. It's the opposite of that.