Alex Speier's latest.
--He says in recent days, the view of the future of Betts in the organization has shifted. His sources say it's likelier than not that he gets traded, potentially in the near future.
--It's a two team race between SD and LA, moreso LA.
--They need to do something before Feb. 11 to avoid a mess in ST.
--They've been pessimistic about signing him long-term for a while now.
--Sources say there is a wide enough gap in negotiations that it's difficult to imagine bridging that gap outside the context of free agency.
--Talks with SD and LA have centered around a major league outfielder. SD is open to discussing any OF besides Pham and Grisham. Margot and Naylor are the targets with SD. Quantrill, Lucchesi, and Campusano are also in play. The 35th overall pick is in play as well but only if they take Wil Myers back.
--With LA, talks have centered around Verdugo and multiple top prospects not named May or Lux. They've discussed Price, but the Dodgers would only pay a fraction of the cost of his contract which would compromise the amount of prospects they get back in return.
--Speier sees them not standing pat with Betts because of their stated desire to cut payroll and them saying it would be very difficult to retain both Betts and JD long-term.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2020/01/30/the-mookie-betts-watch-and-here-where-things-stand/RuLbZ0D1eUorOhd76MUwlM/story.html?event=event25