Red Sox president Tom Werner is a fan of Mookie Betts, but he is not a fan of the contract Betts received earlier this week.
Betts agreed on a $ 365 million, 12-year contract Wednesday with the Dodgers, who acquired the Red Sox superstar outfielder in February. In an interview on WEEI’s “Ordway, Merloni and Fauria” on Friday, Werner, while acknowledging Betts ‘talent, questioned the Dodgers’ decision to sign Betts with such a long extension.
“It’s always hard to change a talented player of Mookie’s caliber, but let’s get back to this conversation in 12 years,” Werner said. “That’s a very, very long-term deal for a team to swallow. You know as well as I do that the history of long-term deals is marked at best. “
As Werner pointed out, it wasn’t necessarily the money that kept the Red Sox driving Betts away. They offered Betts a $ 300 million spread over 10 years, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.
Werner thought the team made Betts a good contract offer and defended the trade that sent Betts west.
“We made what we thought was a generous offer, but for us, it’s time to turn the page,” said Werner. “… We believe we made the right decision at that time.”
The Red Sox traded Betts alongside David Price (the Red Sox reportedly paid half the price of $ 96 million owed on their remaining contract) for Alex Verdugo and minor league players Connor Wong and Jeter Downs.
