For a time, it seemed like Mookie Betts would never play with the Dodgers. Now, it looks like he will spend the rest of his career in blue.
Betts and the Dodgers were closing in on a mega deal that is expected to be for at least 10 years. A person with knowledge of the negotiations described the completion of an extension as “quite real.” Lou Merloni of WEEI in Boston was the first to report that an extension was approaching.
Betts was supposed to be the biggest free agent in the upcoming offseason. But the interruption in the game and the revenue caused by the game closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic has cast doubt on how much the teams would spend, especially with the expectation that attendance will be affected next year due to the persistent effects of the virus and / or the financial blow taken by the nation.
Betts had turned down several Red Sox forays to sign him in the long run. Without an extension in place and wanting to drop below the luxury tax threshold, Boston controversially traded its best player to Los Angeles in February in a move that had attacks and starts and eventually included the Twins, but failed. to the Angels, who abandoned that. The Red Sox welcomed Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs and Connor Wong from the Dodgers.
And when the game closed without a promise to restart, the Dodgers seemed to have given up on future talent and that Betts would never be able to play for them. Now, however, the season kicks off again Thursday with the Dodgers hosting the Giants after the Yankees open the schedule in Washington against the Nationals. And Betts will be on the right field, probably in possession of one of the largest contracts in history. A person briefed on the negotiations said that he would not expect Pat Mahomes’ money (which could hit a maximum of $ 503 million), but that Betts would not be surprised to arrive in the neighborhood.
The greatest amount of money guaranteed in a baseball contract is the 12-year, $ 426.5 million extension that the Angels worked with Mike Trout. Gerrit Cole’s $ 36 million average with the Yankees is the highest. Betts, who won the 2018 American League MVP by helping the Red Sox capture the World Series that year, turns 28 until October and in the past four seasons has won a Golden Glove each year without ever ending worse. than the eighth in the MVP vote.
Questions hanging over this possible deal:
one) Will you recognize the impact of COVID-19? Betts could be paid directly on a contract without bells or whistles. But the Dodgers have led National League attendance in each of the past seven years, winning the National League West Division in all of those seasons, and never falling below 3.7 million fans.
This season begins with fans who don’t pay and an interruption is expected next year. So could the Betts contract have escalators that pay you different levels based on the Dodgers returning to their familiar heights? They have set attendance franchise records in the past two years, including 3,974,309 in 2019.
two) Is Betts a unique contract in this environment? The Dodgers are well positioned even at a difficult time to make a great contract because of their finances, but also because they don’t have a guaranteed deal on the books beyond 2022. Players like Kenley Jansen, Clayton Kershaw, David Price and Justin Turner have their contracts expiring in the next season or two.
So is this just Los Angeles betting on itself and that the sport will bounce back and everything will be alright? Or are the Dodgers, even in tough times, a benchmark for most of the industry? That will affect how the next level of potential free agents is treated this offseason, a group that includes JT Realmuto of the Phillies, George Springer of the Astros, Trevor Bauer of the Reds, Marcus Stroman of the Mets, and DJ. Yankees LeMahieu and James Paxton
3) Mets fans dreamed that a new ownership would mean making a quick and big “We are not the Wilpons” statement when it comes to finances and nothing would have done that like signing Betts. Much for that. Springer.
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