Kinda. They'd might be ranked higher if they had the #1 prospect in all of baseball as opposed to 3 prospects in the 90 range. Funny thing is, the average baseball team should have 3.3 top 100 prospects. I'm not sure the Sox have any unless Casas makes the list.
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I wonder how much the truth lies behind elements of these two statements. Henry apparently made it known to DD a year ago that he wanted salaries down and perhaps there was a good deal of internal debate about that. I can imagine a discussion between the two about priorities -- winning above all/winning on a budget/getting under the tax threshold. Given that Henry did in fact approve (or acquiesce to) the Sale extension, is it too speculative to say that Henry told DD, "Fine, have the money, but we better win otherwise we go under the threshold for 2020." It might help explain Dombrowksi's uneventful deadline as it became increasingly more likely the Sox wouldn't make it that far and so a "reset" becomes more likely: so hands off the prospects.
Another way to interpret this is that, from a purely business point of view, there is a premium the Sox could pay to keep him off the market. Maybe Mookie and his team have a number in mind, maybe they have even shared it with the Sox. I have no doubt that it would be in Trout territory. All speculative, but it does fit with his approach - Mookie wants to find the best deal.
Pro athletes are weird. Sometimes it doesn't take much for them to feel "disrespected" or unwanted.
For what period of time? Maybe Betts felt the offers were for too short in length or too long. Maybe he wanted outs after so many years. Doesn't one need to know the whole story?
Or maybe he just wants to reach FA regardless, like he's been saying forever. Maybe we do know the whole story.
Makes one wonder if the Sox are done making offers to Betts and his team at this point - as in 'You know we are open to discussions - if you do decide to talk, you know where to reach us'
When the Sox traded Lester, they parted on good terms and indicated a willingness to engage in signing him as a free agent. This was after they offered him the 4/70, which did irk him. So this scenario is not all that far fetched.
To be clear, there is no evidence that Betts feels this way. You are saying pro athletes in general? Seems pretty off-topic here, since as was posted above, Betts has simply said every single time he's been asked that he plans to go to free agency. Not personal, not hard feelings, just the way the business works to his advantage.
After never being able to choose their destinations before pro ball, some players want to be wined and dined on their way to choosing their next place. Kind of like the college recruiting process.
It's worked so far, yeah? Mookie's first offer from the Sox was something like ~8/200 after 2017 and presumably, they made him another offer after last year, (does anyone have an idea of what this might be?) and now it seems like Mookie will get somewhere between Machado/Harper and Trout.
I think it's a mistake to judge a market by the deals that are turned down. Let's see what Rendon actually gets before using him as a comp.
Why are we trying to complicate this with speculation and guesswork? Mookie has repeatedly said he intends to test free agency. I don't think he's countering or asking for anything from the Red Sox. The front office has made offers, he's considered them, and he's elected not to engage in negotiations. End of story.
Apologies, I just thought if people were going to speculate at contract terms it was something to consider since it's a part of the negotiation process these days.
That sounds pretty stressful. The speculation machine is in high gear whenever a guy is on his last year, so he'd be living with that indefinitely.
I expect Mookie to market himself as a CF, which is a premium defensive position. And he clearly would be elite there.
I think Trevor Bauer might be kind of dumb. And cocky enough to think he'll earn big pay days. but you hit a certain point with these guys and they are just playing around with how many penthouse apartments they can afford around the country.
Betts' defensive position is not your average RF. He's played RF in Fenway as flawlessly as anyone has ever in baseball. RF in Fenway is more difficult than most CF spots are. He can certainly market himself as a great hitter and elite defender who can easily slide over to CF and be an elite CF.
Which is why Betts will want 13 years at $36 million a year with 3 opt outs. And a no trade.
So if they didn’t have Lester or Price, who was the #2 starter for 3 straight division titles from 2016-2018? You can’t just blanks refusee to sign big free agents because the second half of their contracts will suck. The team was perfectly positioned with a blossoming farm system to make a couple big splashes in free agency to push all that young talent over the top. The end of Price’s deal isn’t the problem. The beginning of Sale’s contract is the problem
Where are you seeing these terms? Or is it your estimate? You seem to be very certain of yourself despite knowing full well that the global economy as well as the state of the market for free agents may well change dramatically for the worse over the next season.
When Betts hits free agency, the market will determine what he gets. For people who are annoyed that the Red Sox haven’t backed up a Brinx Truck to his residence, they need to consider that the Red Sox have to compensate Betts for giving up the option of finding a GM somewhere desperate enough to give him something between Trout money and Harper years. Betts has to consider that he could suffer a career altering injury and not get to that payday.
I don't know who specifically but I'm sure the Redsox could have used the $30 mil+ to find a replacement just like you're sure (and I am too) that the Sox will find a good way to spend the $30-35 mil a year if not on Betts.
The problem is that too often in recent years the first half of their contracts have also sucked.
The ones who truly suck at the beginning of the contract pretty much all come with Red Flags. Price has underperformed and had a couple injuries, but overall he’s been far better Over each of those 4 years than 4 separate random 1-year $8 million signings would have been.
This doesn't answer my question. You stated in what appeared to be definitive terms that Betts will ask for a 13 year deal at $36mm per with three opt outs. I haven't read about what his side may be seeking so I curious where you saw these numbers.
Narrowing it down to 2 teams (Reds and Padres) makes some sense. I don't at all pretend to understand Bett's psyche, but 2 articles I read this season referred to his possible desire to get out of big-city microscopes and try to get closer to home (Nashville) and into a less stressful situation. If there's anything to that - a mega contract with Cincinnati ticks some boxes, even though we're only talking about (for now) a one-year deal.
They have Austin Riley ready to go for 3B. Because Donaldson was there for this year, he got stuck in the OF.
