Mookie Betts and David Price have been traded to Dodgers

[mvp 78]

How long was it from the time he refused the Sox maga offer and the trade?

 

Would you rather they rushed a trade of a franchise player?

[Dipre]

Every time I see a Mookie Betts highlight, I shed a tear. He also has the coolest name in baseball. Oh, what could have been.

[moonslav59]

Would you rather they rushed a trade of a franchise player?

 

No. I was curious about the timeline.

 

I wanted us to offer him the world to stay.

 

I hated trading him.

 

I think, once we decided to trade him, with one year left, then added half-Price to the demand, we did okay on the return.

 

Istill wish we kept Betts.

[Bellhorn04]

No. I was curious about the timeline.

 

I wanted us to offer him the world to stay.

 

I hated trading him.

 

I think, once we decided to trade him, with one year left, then added half-Price to the demand, we did okay on the return.

 

Istill wish we kept Betts.

 

It was the decision to trade him that was the problem, not the trade itself. Well, that and the fact they traded him to a team that was in a great position to extend him.

[mvp 78]

It was the decision to trade him that was the problem, not the trade itself. Well, that and the fact they traded him to a team that was in a great position to extend him.

 

Get more return from a team with the means to extend him.

[Jasonbay44]

Every time I see a Mookie Betts highlight, I shed a tear. He also has the coolest name in baseball. Oh, what could have been.

 

And unfortunately he seems to have a highlight every day to make us all depressed.

[moonslav59]

It was the decision to trade him that was the problem, not the trade itself. Well, that and the fact they traded him to a team that was in a great position to extend him.

 

100% Agree, and it wasn't Bloom who decided.

[dgalehouse]

100% Agree, and it wasn't Bloom who decided.

 

Has John Henry ever said that it was on his orders that Mookie was traded ? Because you keep posting that like it is a known fact.

[Dipre]

Pretty sure Henry has flat out said multiple times that Betts was traded because they were pretty sure from negotiations that he wasn't re-signing. That's business speak for "We ain't paying that much."

[mvp 78]

If Henry wanted to keep Betts, he'd still be here.

[moonslav59]

Has John Henry ever said that it was on his orders that Mookie was traded ? Because you keep posting that like it is a known fact.

 

I know you and others really want to blame Bloom for everything, but this one is obvious.

[Randy Red Sox]

I am not sure that the first thing Bloom wants to do upon being hired was to trade Mookie.

I know you and others really want to blame Bloom for everything, but this one is obvious.

[moonslav59]

I am not sure that the first thing Bloom wants to do upon being hired was to trade Mookie.

 

Who would?

[dgalehouse]

I am not sure that the first thing Bloom wants to do upon being hired was to trade Mookie.

 

But that is exactly what he did.

[moonslav59]

But that is exactly what he did.

 

To quote a poster here, "you keep posting that like it is a known fact."

 

His first significant moves were...

10/31 claimed Osich off waivers

12/2 traded Leon for Bautista

12/12 selected J Arauz Rule 5

12/13 signed Jose Peraza

12/19 signed Martin Perez

12/20 claimed C Mazza off waivers

1/2 signed Plawecki

1/10 signed Mookie Betts, Matt Barnes and others to avoid arbs

1/15 traded Sam Travis for J Springs

1/21 traded Lakins

1/28 signed M Moreland

2/8 signed Beni to a 2 year deal

2/10 traded Betts

 

[Jasonbay44]

If anyone was wondering, Mookie just hit a go ahead grand slam

[Bellhorn04]

But that is exactly what he did.

 

Bloom is a salaried employee who can be fired at any time. Henry is the majority shareholder of a franchise worth $4.5 billion. Do you really think Henry would just let his employee make a call of that magnitude on his own?

[dgalehouse]

Bloom is a salaried employee who can be fired at any time. Henry is the majority shareholder of a franchise worth $4.5 billion. Do you really think Henry would just let his employee make a call of that magnitude on his own?

 

Generally, the GM makes the calls on trades. Maybe he told Henry that was his plan. Maybe Henry did order Bloom to trade Mookie, but he has never admitted it. Is it that Bloom has made every trade except for Betts? That one was above his level?

[moonslav59]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28724129/red-sox-owner-john-henry-says-mookie-betts-trade-was-strategic-not-financial-move

Kennedy said it would be difficult for Boston to keep both Betts and J.D. Martinez, who had an opt-out in his contract after 2019 for the 2020 season.

 

Henry: "In today's game, there's a cost to losing a great player in free agency, one that cannot nearly be made up by the draft pick given," Henry said. "We've seen examples of this recently. We at the Red Sox will remember this as one of the toughest, one of the most difficult decisions we've ever had to make. ... We felt we could not sit on our hands and lose him this offseason without getting value in return to help us on our path forward. We carefully considered the alternative over the last year and made a decision when this opportunity presented itself to acquire substantial young talent for the years ahead."

 

When asked if there was anything the team could have done to prevent the circumstances that led to the Betts trade, Henry kept his answer short.

 

"Yes," Henry said. "We could've signed him to a long-term contract, but short of that, I'm not sure what the answer is."

 

Boston made offers to Betts over three different offseasons. The last major offer was for 10 years and $300 million, which Betts reportedly countered by asking for 12 years and $420 million.

 

"We made legitimate offers over three offseasons," Henry said. "We made it clear to Mookie and I made it personally clear, one-on-one, that we wanted to see him in a Red Sox uniform for the rest of his career if possible."

 

...Henry on multiple occasions made a point to compare the trade of Betts to the 2004 midseason trade of Nomar Garciaparra.,,

 

"I know it's difficult and disappointing," Henry said. "Some of you no doubt felt the same way in 2004 when we traded Nomar, who like Mookie, was a hugely popular homegrown player. All of us in the organization hoped that we would never have to go through something like that again, but most clubs face similar dilemmas from time to time. I understand there's probably little I can say that will change how you feel about this, but it's my responsibility to try."

 

"Today's players spend years in the minors and major leagues earning the right to be paid in a free market, earning the right to make choices. They made significant sacrifices to get there, and they deserve what they receive," Henry said. "Clubs also have choices to make in this economic system. It's a system that has a few imbalances as do all economic systems, but it's a system overall that has led to labor peace and an amazing market for our best players. It's not the system's fault that the Red Sox ended up in this position. We were faced with a difficult choice."

 

Yup, this sounds like Bloom had to talk Henry into trading Betts.

 

[Bellhorn04]

Generally, the GM makes the calls on trades. Maybe he told Henry that was his plan. Maybe Henry did order Bloom to trade Mookie, but he has never admitted it. Is it that Bloom has made every trade except for Betts? That one was above his level?

 

It was the decision to stop negotiating with Mookie, to give up on trying to keep him, that had to come from ownership. And the negotiations with Mookie had started long before Bloom came along. So yeah, that decision was above Bloom's level. Seems pretty obvious to me.

[notin]

It was the decision to stop negotiating with Mookie, to give up on trying to keep him, that had to come from ownership. And the negotiations with Mookie had started long before Bloom came along. So yeah, that decision was above Bloom's level. Seems pretty obvious to me.

 

But you’re not trying to distance Dombrowski from it…

[Bellhorn04]

But you’re not trying to distance Dombrowski from it…

 

I'm distancing both Dombrowski and Bloom. I think if DD had his way they would have offered more money, absolutely. I've said that a number of times.

[mvp 78]

To quote a poster here, "you keep posting that like it is a known fact."

 

His first significant moves were...

10/31 claimed Osich off waivers

12/2 traded Leon for Bautista

12/12 selected J Arauz Rule 5

12/13 signed Jose Peraza

12/19 signed Martin Perez

12/20 claimed C Mazza off waivers

1/2 signed Plawecki

1/10 signed Mookie Betts, Matt Barnes and others to avoid arbs

1/15 traded Sam Travis for J Springs

1/21 traded Lakins

1/28 signed M Moreland

2/8 signed Beni to a 2 year deal

2/10 traded Betts

 

 

A whole bunch of horrible moves in a row. Sox couldn't figure out Springs even though they were pumping him up on NESN as a future closer.

[mvp 78]

I'm distancing both Dombrowski and Bloom. I think if DD had his way they would have offered more money, absolutely. I've said that a number of times.

 

And we don't know if Bloom's FO would have or not. Ownership controls the checkbook on the max dollar contracts for sure.

[notin]

I'm distancing both Dombrowski and Bloom. I think if DD had his way they would have offered more money, absolutely. I've said that a number of times.

 

I have, too.

 

Bloom had two options

 

1. Trade Betts

2. Keep Betts for exactly one more year that turned out to be 60 games long and without Sale.

[moonslav59]

A whole bunch of horrible moves in a row. Sox couldn't figure out Springs even though they were pumping him up on NESN as a future closer.

 

True, they weren't good moves, even for a low budget plan, but the fact is, the Betts trade was not "the first" thing Bloom did. (He did sign him, first.) The Springs trade was great, but he didn't keep him around.

[cp176]

Personally it makes no difference to me who was ultimately or even partially responsible for the fact that Betts does not wear a Red Sox uniform at this point in time. DD, Bloom, JH, blah blah blah or should I say ... Him going to the Dodgers means and meant that we lost a potential once in a generation talent. If Mookie ever had intentions of staying in Boston, which we will never truly know for sure, and he was allowed to walk because of the $ it would have taken to keep him here, I don't see it as being justifiable. We went on to sign Story and then this year Devers as well. Something just doesn't seem right with this line of reasoning. In general, I'm not really fond of much that Bloom has or has not done since he has been here but he is the GM and I choose to support him. I do kind of wish though that all of this sustainable talent that he has been responsible for developing would be put on display soon so that I can actually have a real good reason for choosing to follow them.

[moonslav59]

Personally it makes no difference to me who was ultimately or even partially responsible for the fact that Betts does not wear a Red Sox uniform at this point in time. DD, Bloom, JH, blah blah blah or should I say ... Him going to the Dodgers means and meant that we lost a potential once in a generation talent. If Mookie ever had intentions of staying in Boston, which we will never truly know for sure, and he was allowed to walk because of the $ it would have taken to keep him here, I don't see it as being justifiable. We went on to sign Story and then this year Devers as well. Something just doesn't seem right with this line of reasoning. In general, I'm not really fond of much that Bloom has or has not done since he has been here but he is the GM and I choose to support him. I do kind of wish though that all of this sustainable talent that he has been responsible for developing would be put on display soon so that I can actually have a real good reason for choosing to follow them.

 

We signed Story more than 3 years after the trade, and the Devers extension kicks in over 5 years afterwards.

 

To me, the issue was the budget, and that was what forced the Betts trade. I guess, in theory, maybe Bloom might have been given the chance to trade other higher-priced players, instead of Betts, but after 2020, when Betts became a FA, how does he sign him, under the budget he had for 2021?

 

It's possible, if he does not sign anyone else. What would the roster have looked like in 2020 and 2021 with the budget we had and Betts making $30M?

 

How could we have dumped half-Price without including a good player or prospect (Bello, Casas, Duran?)

 

We will never truly know, but the fact that Betts was traded had to do with the budget set by JH & Co. NOT Bloom. Had we kept Betts, the roster would have been awful around him- worse than it already was in 2020.

[Bellhorn04]

We signed Story more than 3 years after the trade, and the Devers extension kicks in over 5 years afterwards.

 

To me, the issue was the budget, and that was what forced the Betts trade. I guess, in theory, maybe Bloom might have been given the chance to trade other higher-priced players, instead of Betts, but after 2020, when Betts became a FA, how does he sign him, under the budget he had for 2021?

 

It's possible, if he does not sign anyone else. What would the roster have looked like in 2020 and 2021 with the budget we had and Betts making $30M?

 

How could we have dumped half-Price without including a good player or prospect (Bello, Casas, Duran?)

 

We will never truly know, but the fact that Betts was traded had to do with the budget set by JH & Co. NOT Bloom. Had we kept Betts, the roster would have been awful around him- worse than it already was in 2020.

 

Even "the budget" is an oversimplification, IMHO. A budget is for one year. A contract extension for Betts would have affected the payroll for the next decade plus.

 

Henry just didn't want to go as high as it would have taken to get Mookie to sign on the bottom line. That's what it came down to.

[cp176]

We signed Story more than 3 years after the trade, and the Devers extension kicks in over 5 years afterwards.

 

To me, the issue was the budget, and that was what forced the Betts trade. I guess, in theory, maybe Bloom might have been given the chance to trade other higher-priced players, instead of Betts, but after 2020, when Betts became a FA, how does he sign him, under the budget he had for 2021?

 

It's possible, if he does not sign anyone else. What would the roster have looked like in 2020 and 2021 with the budget we had and Betts making $30M?

 

How could we have dumped half-Price without including a good player or prospect (Bello, Casas, Duran?)

 

We will never truly know, but the fact that Betts was traded had to do with the budget set by JH & Co. NOT Bloom. Had we kept Betts, the roster would have been awful around him- worse than it already was in 2020.

 

It is isn't about dates and times and budgets I guess to me. I'm painfully aware of everything that you have said. If I had to choose would I choose to have Betts here right now without Story and without Devers? Absolutely without one bit of doubt.