Gregory Bull / Associated Press
When the Los Angeles Dodgers traded for Mookie Betts in February, they were only guaranteed to have the 2018 American League MVP for one year.
Do it 13.
On Wednesday, WEEI’s Lou Merloni was the first to mock that the Dodgers and Betts were nearing a long-term contract extension. Ultimately, ESPN’s Jeff Passan achieved the final 12-year terms and $ 365 million in addition to what Betts is doing this season.
The Dodgers then announced the deal:
Los Angeles Dodgers @ @Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced that they signed outfielder Mookie Betts to a 12-year contract during the 2032 season.
Winslow Townson / Associated Press
Because Mike Trout’s $ 426.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels technically included just $ 360 million in new money, the new Betts deal is the largest deal in Major League Baseball history.
For the man himself, it is a great victory after years of betting on himself.
The 27-year-old right fielder first entered with the Boston Red Sox in 2014, and by the end of 2017, he had two nods to the All-Star Game, two Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger to his name. According to Joel Sherman of the New York PostIt was after ’17 that the Red Sox approached Betts with an eight-year, $ 200 million contract offer.
Instead of accepting it, he rejected it and increased its value to astronomical levels with a 2018 MVP-winning season that was marked by 1,078 OPS, 32 home runs, 30 stolen bases, 10.6 rWAR, and ultimately a World Series Ring .
According to Merloni, the Red Sox made another attempt to extend Betts after their triumphant 2018 season. But while his offer was in the $ 300 million range, he was looking for more like $ 420 million.
Although Betts took a step down in 2019, it persisted as an All-Star, Gold Glover, and Silver Slugger. In January of this year, unsurprisingly, she broke a record when she earned a salary of $ 27 million for her final season of refereeing eligibility.
A month later, Boston sent the Dodgers to Betts (and ace David Price, who has since opted not to play in 2020). Whether the Red Sox were primarily motivated by luxury tax considerations, Betts’ pending free agency, or the clear indication that he would not sign an extension on his terms, his decision was generally derided as pure cynicism.
Gregory Bull / Associated Press
The equation began to change when the coronavirus pandemic began to decline in the 2020 season, raising a question about whether Betts would even play a single game for the Dodgers.
Even after MLB announced a shortened 60-game season to 2020, another question arose: In light of the broader financial blow the league was being given, had their hopes of reaching a settlement to their liking faded?
Obviously not. And frankly, no one should be too Surprised.
The fact that the Dodgers traded for Betts, which, in addition to absorbing all of their wages and most of Price’s remaining wages, required resigning former prospect Alex Verdugo and current prospect Jeter Downs, was a reflection of their commitment to winning. the World 2020 Series.
Although the Dodgers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars and won seven National League West titles since 2013, the club’s World Series drought still lasts until 1988. And while at least they made it to the World Series in 2017 and 2018, last year ended with a demoralizing first-round exit from the playoffs.
For the sake of returning to the Fall Classic, Betts was the best player the Dodgers could have added for 2020. He is the best defensive right fielder in the sport, and in a typical year, he’s good for more than .900 OPS and 25 home runs and robberies each. Hence its 39.5 rWAR since 2015 only beats Trout.
Between Betts and reigning National League MVP Cody Bellinger, the Dodgers will enter this season with the best pair of teammates in all of baseball. Combined with other remnants of last year’s 106-win team and other new additions like Alex Wood and Blake Treinen, the Dodgers are now the favorites to win an elusive championship.
However, even better than the potential for one championship is that of multiple championships.
At least in the short term, the Dodgers could only pursue the latter goal if they found a way to extend Betts. And while this year will feature 60 percent fewer games and potentially 100 percent less door-to-door revenue for all teams, such things never destroyed that hope.
For one thing, these are the Dodgers we’re talking about. Even if they take an L on their bottom line for 2020, they can look to a future that includes a couple of hundred million dollars a year in local television revenue, plus constant high attendance at Dodger Stadium when (fingers crossed) the pandemic decreases.
On the other hand, the Dodgers have carefully planned their future. Before his deal with Betts, his books were to be reduced to zero dollars guaranteed as early as 2023.
As such, the Betts extension probably won’t be the Dodgers’ last seismic move for a while. If you also want to extend Bellinger and budding ace Walker Buehler, you can. And even then, they would still have money to equip their list with whatever they need.
From a broader perspective, the Betts contract creates an interesting juxtaposition with the league’s broader financial situation.
Some owners (see here and here) make fans believe that baseball is not a very profitable business, even in the best of times. In these less-than-better times, MLB has projected billions in losses for 2020. Consequently, the outlook for this winter’s free agent class has been bleak.
Perhaps all of this only tightened the Dodgers’ resolve to extend Betts, as they might have felt the opportunity to flex muscles that no one else will be flexing in the near future. Or it could be that the league’s financial situation is not as dire as reported, and the club therefore thought he should act now rather than risk losing Betts as a free agent.
Whatever the case, the Dodgers have made a deal they won’t regret soon.
Statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference.
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