Article: Betts & Verdugo Sharing The World Series Stage Serves As Reminder To What The Red Sox Are Trying To Build

[Brandon Glick]

Not long ago, the Red Sox infamously swapped Mookie Betts for Alex Verdugo (and a few prospects) in a cost-cutting move. Now, both outfielders have dueled on the game’s biggest stage while Boston watched from home.

There are going to be a lot of lasting memories from the 2024 World Series, not the least of which was Alex Verdugo striking out against Walker Buehler for the final out of the season.

Despite that less-than-stellar moment, he and Mookie Betts starred for the teams that battled for five games in this year’s edition of the Fall Classic: the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Verdugo gave New York a reliable third outfielder, slashing .208/.309/.313 while starting all 14 postseason games, walking just as much as he struck out. Betts, meanwhile, posted a .951 OPS this postseason, with four home runs and 16 RBIs, often batting between a pair of other MVPs in Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. Whenever the Dodgers needed a ball put in play, Betts ensured it was done. In a series where the Dodgers won because of the little things, Betts exemplified a fundamentally perfect ballplayer.

Of course, it’s been about four years since the fateful trade between the Red Sox and Dodgers that sent Betts to Los Angeles, which brought Verdugo to Boston (along with starting catcher Connor Wong and failed prospect Jeter Downs). The trade is as unpopular in Beantown now as it was back then, though the Red Sox did recoup a little value by trading Verdugo to the Yankees in exchange for starter Richard Fitts, reliever Greg Weissert, and minor-league pitcher Nicholas Judice.

Watching the two outfielders have both individual and team success in the postseason while the Red Sox sat out the festivities again was painful, but it also serves as a reminder for what needs to happen over the next few years as Boston tries to recapture some championship magic.

Every team needs a guy like Betts to lead the organization as not just a superstar, but a reliable face of the franchise. A player who can not only fill a need in the middle of the lineup or atop the pitching staff, but take criticism from the media and keep the clubhouse in check. Rafael Devers is the obvious candidate on the current roster with a $313.5 million contract in hand, though his OPS hasn’t climbed above .900 in any season since 2019. And while his quiet leadership has grown on the team, sometimes players need a fire lit under them.

We don’t need to belabor how good Betts is here, so the short version is: he’s an eight-time All-Star, six-time Gold Glove recipient, has both a batting title and an MVP to his name, and is the only active player with three World Series rings. Devers may be great, but he’s not at that level (yet). The 2023 Rangers had Corey Seager (2x World Series MVP). The 2022 Astros had Yordan Alvarez (.973 career OPS) and Jose Altuve (four top-10 MVP finishes). The 2021 Braves had Freddie Freeman (MVP, 8x All-Star). And the 2020 Dodgers had Betts and Seager. Having a player of that caliber is becoming a prerequisite to win the World Series.

Verdugo, on the other hand, is far from the caliber of player that Betts or even Devers is. His best season came during the Covid-shortened 2020 campaign, and he’s consistently worth 2-3 WAR per season. He’s not the star that will make or break a season, but as a complement to an Aaron Judge or Juan Soto, he’s a seamless fit. Unless you’re the Dodgers, no team can afford to buy every superstar on the market. Teams need to surround their north stars with consistent role players who do the little things well.

In 2024, the Red Sox were led by Jarren Duran (6.7 WAR) and Devers (4.1 WAR), according to FanGraphs. They had just three other hitters amass even 1.5 WAR for the season—Wilyer Abreu (3.1 WAR), Tyler O’Neil (2.5 WAR), and David Hamilton (1.7 WAR)—none of whom accrued more than 475 plate appearances. Now, WAR is far from a be-all end-all statistic, and defensive value can be measured more accurately in plenty of other ways, but it does highlight how the Red Sox are lacking both a league-leading superstar and a stable of valuable players behind them.

Healthy seasons from Trevor Story and Triston Casas will go a long ways towards lengthening the lineup, and a sustained breakout from Duran could give the Red Sox a pair of elite hitters atop the order. Plus, the biggest addition for the team this offseason should probably come on the mound, where a staff ace like Corbin Burnes would go a long ways towards turning the roster into a postseason contender again.

Still, the Red Sox are in the process of building up to the caliber of team the Yankees or Dodgers were this year. There’s no doubt the team should have made more of an effort to keep Betts in town, and there’s no denying how valuable Verdugo was to the outfield. With an entire offseason about to begin, Boston can make more strides in replacing the production they traded away.

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[Bellhorn04]

Seeing Mookie Betts win a second ring in Dodger Blue, with a few more possibly yet to come, serves as a reminder of John Henry's colossal failure to do the right thing, and that the Harry Frazee-Babe Ruth comparisons are still very much in play.

Betts had a phenomenal postseason, doing big things and small things in equal measure.  What a player.

Seeing Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo is a reminder that the Sox also failed spectacularly in the return for Betts.  One year of Soto brought back Michael King and Drew Thorpe, who was traded for Dylan Cease.

2024 fWARs

Cease 4.8

King 3.9

Wong 1.1

Verdugo 0.6

What a disaster.

Fitts may turn out to be a decent back-end starter, so Breslow did his best to salvage something.

[Randy Red Sox]

comparing the Dodgers and the current Red Sox in ANY CASE SCENARIO is ludicrous. The two teams are so far apart in their methods of building a team it is comical