Why was Mookie traded, exactly?

[moonslav59]

Simply put , Mookie was traded because John Henry decided that the spending was becoming too much and he opted to start cutting back a bit and draw the line. . Basically , Mookie became too expensive for the budget.

 

...or, the budget became too big to afford Betts.

 

It's not like the budget just went up and up by accident.

[mvp 78]

What, with the Eovaldi signing?

 

It started as soon as DD came aboard, but again, I'm glad we got to witness 2018.

 

And Sale extension.

[jad]

Not all Red Sox fans.

 

I know RS stats geeks did not want to PAY Mookie, but I don't think you'll find a single fan who says "I don't want Betts on this team!"

[moonslav59]

I know RS stats geeks did not want to PAY Mookie, but I don't think you'll find a single fan who says "I don't want Betts on this team!"

 

I'm a huge stat geek, and I wanted us to pay Mookie.

[SoxHop]

It hurts seeing Mookie in highlight clips wearing the Dodgers uniform.

 

I strongly supported letting him walk away for crazy money. But damn it hurts seeing him play for another team. He was the best I've ever seen with a B on his uniform.

[notin]

I know RS stats geeks did not want to PAY Mookie, but I don't think you'll find a single fan who says "I don't want Betts on this team!"

 

So are we now pretending Mookie had no offers from the Sox?

[Bellhorn04]

Simply put , Mookie was traded because John Henry decided that the spending was becoming too much and he opted to start cutting back a bit and draw the line. . Basically , Mookie became too expensive for the budget.

 

But we know that they made an offer of $300 million. It's not like they were just letting him walk away.

 

I think what it came down to was they drew a line on how high they would go with him, just like most teams do in any negotiation.

 

The only real question is whether they drew the line too low.

[oldtimer]

I'm a huge stat geek, and I wanted us to pay Mookie.

 

With other people's money.

[Bellhorn04]

With other people's money.

 

It is the fans who provide the money to the organization. It's the executives of the organization who get to decide how to spend it, of course.

[notin]

But we know that they made an offer of $300 million. It's not like they were just letting him walk away.

 

I think what it came down to was they drew a line on how high they would go with him, just like most teams do in any negotiation.

 

The only real question is whether they drew the line too low.

 

They clearly drew it too low. The question is - was the line they drew unreasonable? Like it was for Lester...

[Bellhorn04]

They clearly drew it too low. The question is - was the line they drew unreasonable? Like it was for Lester...

 

The Lester offer was flat-out Lowball City.

 

10 and $300 million wasn't quite that. But it still sounds like a minimum bid when you're talking about Mookie Betts. Maybe they should have started where the Mets did with Lindor, 10 and $325. Give a signal that you really want to get this done.

 

None of which matters, of course, just something to pass the time by musing about...

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Boston Globe columnist who two winters ago wrote a column about us overrating Mookie just wrote another asking why we would ever care about the savings our team made by not paying market value for a guy like Betts.

[Bellhorn04]

Boston Globe columnist who two winters ago wrote a column about us overrating Mookie just wrote another asking why we would ever care about the savings our team made by not paying market value for a guy like Betts.

 

And as I wrote in the comments section of that article, the intelligent fan only cares about the budget because they know if the team spends stupidly it will hurt the team sooner or later. Which should be fairly obvious, I would think.

[Bellhorn04]

You sign a guy like JD Martinez for 5 years and 110 million, and everyone is happy at first. 2-3 years later most of the fans are itching to unload him.

 

Funny how that works.

[Kimmi]

I know RS stats geeks did not want to PAY Mookie, but I don't think you'll find a single fan who says "I don't want Betts on this team!"

 

I don't know. I have gotten to that point. Sour grapes, possibly, but I have been turned off by his quest for making the most money possible.

[Kimmi]

And as I wrote in the comments section of that article, the intelligent fan only cares about the budget because they know if the team spends stupidly it will hurt the team sooner or later. Which should be fairly obvious, I would think.

 

Correct.

[Kimmi]

You sign a guy like JD Martinez for 5 years and 110 million, and everyone is happy at first. 2-3 years later most of the fans are itching to unload him.

 

Funny how that works.

 

The same thing happened with Price (and countless others).

 

It's always nice to get that shiny new toy, but more often than not, the shine will fade and the cost will become a burden. If that burden prohibits the team from making future moves, which it inevitably will, then every fan should be concerned about how Henry spends his money.

 

In a couple of years, the Dodgers will be scaling back as well. Things look great for them now, but even with their strong farm system and their large budget, they will pay the price for their big spending.

[jacksonianmarch]

The same thing happened with Price (and countless others).

 

It's always nice to get that shiny new toy, but more often than not, the shine will fade and the cost will become a burden. If that burden prohibits the team from making future moves, which it inevitably will, then every fan should be concerned about how Henry spends his money.

 

In a couple of years, the Dodgers will be scaling back as well. Things look great for them now, but even with their strong farm system and their large budget, they will pay the price for their big spending.

 

Dodgers haven’t had to pick and choose. They’re going to soon with Seager, Buehler and Bellinger getting on in arb. Friedman has kept the team financially flexible, but that’ll change if he tries to keep the band together

[notin]

And as I wrote in the comments section of that article, the intelligent fan only cares about the budget because they know if the team spends stupidly it will hurt the team sooner or later. Which should be fairly obvious, I would think.

 

This is the theme of the majority of my posts about free agency. Typically the response is something “they print money” or “why are you trying to save Henry’s money?”

 

I’m not convinced a lot of fans believe this team has a budget or spending limit...

[jacksonianmarch]

Here’s the deal.

 

If Verdugo cements himself as an all star OFer and Downs ends up being a regular, then the deal is neutral, IMO. If the Sox then spend the savings ($35 mil plus $16 mil from Price) and upgrade another spot then it was worth it. Having Betts and Price doesn’t make you a playoff team this year.

[cp176]

You sign a guy like JD Martinez for 5 years and 110 million, and everyone is happy at first. 2-3 years later most of the fans are itching to unload him.

 

Funny how that works.

 

hmm not me and i'm pretty sure that there are many who do still think that having him in a Sox uni is a good thing.

[guinness22]

I don't know. I have gotten to that point. Sour grapes, possibly, but I have been turned off by his quest for making the most money possible.

 

This. And I truly believe Mookie didn’t want to be in Boston. Honestly I think he chose Cali over Mass.

Edited April 4, 2021 by guinness22

[moonslav59]

Here’s the deal.

 

If Verdugo cements himself as an all star OFer and Downs ends up being a regular, then the deal is neutral, IMO. If the Sox then spend the savings ($35 mil plus $16 mil from Price) and upgrade another spot then it was worth it. Having Betts and Price doesn’t make you a playoff team this year.

 

Come on!

 

This is absurd.

 

We traded one year of Betts, and it was a 60 game year.

 

We also dumped half Price's contract.

 

It's a win, if just Verdugo is a regular plus.

[moonslav59]

This. And I truly believe Mookie didn’t want to be in Boston. Honestly I think he chose Cali over Mass.

 

Probably, but the whole COVID thing changed the dynamic, and we don't know if that changed Betts's mind about going to free agency.

[jacksonianmarch]

Come on!

 

This is absurd.

 

We traded one year of Betts, and it was a 60 game year.

 

We also dumped half Price's contract.

 

It's a win, if just Verdugo is a regular plus.

 

I am talking about giving up the chance to re-sign him. If you assume he wouldnt have signed anyway, then it's already a win. If you assume the sox would have re-signed him, then you need more

[guinness22]

Probably, but the whole COVID thing changed the dynamic, and we don't know if that changed Betts's mind about going to free agency.

 

Agreed. In the end, it seems everyone involved did the best deals they could given the variables at play, many we aren’t privy to. I hope it works out long term for everyone. I can’t hate the Dodgers, Brooklyn was my grandfathers favorite team so I’ve always had a soft spot for them.

[dgalehouse]

The same thing happened with Price (and countless others).

 

It's always nice to get that shiny new toy, but more often than not, the shine will fade and the cost will become a burden. If that burden prohibits the team from making future moves, which it inevitably will, then every fan should be concerned about how Henry spends his money.

 

In a couple of years, the Dodgers will be scaling back as well. Things look great for them now, but even with their strong farm system and their large budget, they will pay the price for their big spending.

The thing is that the future will always be there . When the " future " arrives , you still can't spend because there is another " future " ahead. And so forth and so on. Sometimes you just have to go for it . Same with life in general , you can't always be looking to the future , sometimes you have to be in the moment.

[jad]

Ha ha! I understand now. If all the players Bloom signs end up to be Hall of Famers, then he did a great job. ERGO, "intelligent" fans support him. (Of course, they will have no reason to buy tickets or purchase gear, but that's up to the marketing department, right?). At least the pitching is great, no?

[Bellhorn04]

Ha ha! I understand now. If all the players Bloom signs end up to be Hall of Famers, then he did a great job. ERGO, "intelligent" fans support him. (Of course, they will have no reason to buy tickets or purchase gear, but that's up to the marketing department, right?). At least the pitching is great, no?

 

Can't make much sense of this.

[jad]

Can't make much sense of this.

 

There is no sense to be had with this team. But the important question is, will the Seadogs have enough of a season so that I can pay off that debt I owe you? (Probably the only thing about this baseball season I'm looking forward to.)