Mookie Betts Is Officially On The Wrong Side Of His Contract

[king koji]

7 years remaining, at 210 Million +, glad we dont have that deal. Glad we dont have Devers either. Mookie had a .728 OPS this year, while moving from Outfield to Shortstop. Still a good player, but a MAX player going forward??? Just cant go there. Sox are off the hook in my opinion, yeah, Betts got them the 2020 World Series, tainted as it is, but as far as the 2024 and possibly 2025 Dodgers World Series winning teams im gonna have to go with Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman being the MAIN cogs.

Relax, and breathe Red Sox nation. We WON a World Series with Betts already.

Onward and Upward.

[mvp 78]

He had a down year and was still underpaid per his performance. If he was a FA this year, he'd get more than 210M. 

[moonslav59]

37 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

He had a down year and was still underpaid per his performance. If he was a FA this year, he'd get more than 210M. 

Not from JH.

 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

At age 32, Mookie made himself a Gold Glove worthy fielder at the most difficult position on the diamond that doesn't wear the tools of ignorance. And his team won the pennant.

Anyone here really think Betts won't make adjustments to become a good hitter again?

[mvp 78]

Betts:

3/27 - 6/8 783 OPS

6/9 - 8/4 489 OPS

8/5 - 9/28 892 OPS

I'll just overlook the bad two months and believe he's still got it. 

 

[king koji]

Mookie Betts career Postseason in 89 games  has 8 Home Runs with a .255 Batting Average and .741 OPS. Making him basically a 15 HR a year player with mid averages, slugging, and OPS.

Frailish body wears down by October? Or just un-clutch? Take your pick.

I do remember we had to CARRY him in our 2018 run.

[Jasonbay44]

A “bad year” for him is appearing in his 3 World Series with dodgers and putting up an almost 5 WAR. 

[king koji]

3 minutes ago, Jasonbay44 said:

A “bad year” for him is appearing in his 3 World Series with dodgers and putting up an almost 5 WAR. 

Sure. Just like most players would, being carried by Ohtani and others.

[notin]

45 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

At age 32, Mookie made himself a Gold Glove worthy fielder at the most difficult position on the diamond that doesn't wear the tools of ignorance. And his team won the pennant.

Anyone here really think Betts won't make adjustments to become a good hitter again?

Again?

His OPS+ after 6 years in LA is higher than it was after 6 seasons in Boston…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

12 minutes ago, notin said:

Again?

His OPS+ after 6 years in LA is higher than it was after 6 seasons in Boston…

How can you use anything for comparison in Boston, where Mookie wasn't even worth fair market value?

(according to the smartest idiots in the history of the franchise)

[mvp 78]

28 minutes ago, king koji said:

Sure. Just like most players would, being carried by Ohtani and others.

Dodgers were happy with his postseason performance in '20, '21 and '24. He had an 809 OPS through the end of the NLCS this year. 

[mvp 78]

17 minutes ago, notin said:

Again?

His OPS+ after 6 years in LA is higher than it was after 6 seasons in Boston…

It should be since his teammates are carrying him so much!!! 😎

[Duran Is The Man]

15 hours ago, king koji said:

7 years remaining, at 210 Million +, glad we dont have that deal. Glad we dont have Devers either. Mookie had a .728 OPS this year, while moving from Outfield to Shortstop. Still a good player, but a MAX player going forward??? Just cant go there. Sox are off the hook in my opinion, yeah, Betts got them the 2020 World Series, tainted as it is, but as far as the 2024 and possibly 2025 Dodgers World Series winning teams im gonna have to go with Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman being the MAIN cogs.

Relax, and breathe Red Sox nation. We WON a World Series with Betts already.

Onward and Upward.

are you John Henry or Chime Bloom?

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Betts coming off a 7.2 WAR at age 26 making $20 mil in arbitration needed to be salary-dumped by Boston.

But Bregman coming off a season of 4.1 WAR at age 30 was worth $40 mil AAV to the Sox.

I know, it was six years later, and we have to account for inflation -- and we all must admit that our own incomes have doubled in that time, too...

 

[notin]

14 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

It should be since his teammates are carrying him so much!!! 😎

II thinks it’s fair to credit his  teammates as well for the WS appearances.  Betts does have at least three teammates headed for Cooperstown…

[moonslav59]

I'd like to see if Mookie's "twitch times" have diminished before projecting his future offensive production.

IMO, that was a big reason for his success.

[mvp 78]

32 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Betts coming off a 7.2 WAR at age 26 making $20 mil in arbitration needed to be salary-dumped by Boston.

But Bregman coming off a season of 4.1 WAR at age 30 was worth $40 mil AAV to the Sox.

I know, it was six years later, and we have to account for inflation -- and we all must admit that our own incomes have doubled in that time, too...

 

Have you seen the price of steak lately? I don't know how Betts even affords to live in LA on that salary.

[mvp 78]

32 minutes ago, notin said:

II thinks it’s fair to credit his  teammates as well for the WS appearances.  Betts does have at least three teammates headed for Cooperstown…

Ohtani and Freeman have been good. Kershaw has stunk/been injured since Betts showed up. 

[king koji]

Point is, great player that is bound to diminish as time goes on. Let's take the "glass half full" side of this from now on.

And this was all a HENRY decision, not a Chaim decision as some refer to. When the BIG Contracts come up thats Ownership, not GM.

Last year's Soto Sweepstakes came down to Cohen, Steinbrenner and Henry, not Stearns, Cashman and Breslow.

[Jasonbay44]

11 hours ago, king koji said:

Sure. Just like most players would, being carried by Ohtani and others.

Yes, because Ohtani was able to carry Mike Trout to many playoff appearances right?

The Dodgers have a great roster, but part of the greatness is Mookie Betts and his amazing ability and willingness to play different positions. How many players can even physically make the move to change positions to SS at age 33? 
 

Trade still sucks, and Mookie having a down year with 5 WAR and playing in the World Series again isn’t making them look smarter or making anyone happier. 

[harmony]

What makes the thread' title's conclusion official?

[moonslav59]

52 minutes ago, Jasonbay44 said:

Trade still sucks, and Mookie having a down year with 5 WAR and playing in the World Series again isn’t making them look smarter or making anyone happier. 

I don't think anyone is implying this the deal looks any better. Nobody is happier about it, now.

But hey, Wong declined, too!!!!

[king koji]

8 hours ago, Jasonbay44 said:

Yes, because Ohtani was able to carry Mike Trout to many playoff appearances right?

The Dodgers have a great roster, but part of the greatness is Mookie Betts and his amazing ability and willingness to play different positions. How many players can even physically make the move to change positions to SS at age 33? 
 

Trade still sucks, and Mookie having a down year with 5 WAR and playing in the World Series again isn’t making them look smarter or making anyone happier. 

People get hung up on the "trade" in this equation. As if the Sox were ever playing from a position of strength on this. The "trade," as you call it, ONLY came about when it was made clear that Betts and Boras wouldn't accept Boston offer and were leaving in Free Agency ANYWAY.

So think of Betts as someone who left in Free Agency- Johnny Damon, Jon Lester, examples, and that we got Connor Wong back as a bonus. 

Glad we dont have that Betts Contract on the books right now, Devers too.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

18 hours ago, king koji said:

Point is, great player that is bound to diminish as time goes on. Let's take the "glass half full" side of this from now on.

Teams signing superstars longterm are all about contracts half full -- they know they're paying for the first half of contracts, with the understanding that the back-end won't be as productive.

Mookie led LA to three World Series in the first half of his contract. The Dodgers have won 35 postseason games in those years. They got what they paid for.

The Red Sox won zero playoff games in those years.

[jad]

I see the typical RS faan is out in force today:  bad-mouth guys who left.   Because really, who wants to watch an MVP at work, or, say, a guy who hits over 100 RBI, or put up with a manager like Francona?  Such a fan is like a 10-year-old obsessed with trading away all the stuff he's gotten bored with.

[king koji]

Did the Red Sox, or did they not, TRY to sign Mookie Betts with a competetive offer? Seems like YOUR the 10-year old.

[moonslav59]

There was the option of signing Betts as a FA, if they did not trade him.

Knowing JH & Co. that was not happening, but Betts going to free agency was not to get away from BOS. It was to make the most money, and he barely made more than the Sox final offer.

It was about the Sox not wanting to pay a penny more.

Oh, and by the way, letting players walk to free agency has mostly worked out better than the Betts trade.

Betts for Wong & Verdugo (Weissert, Fitts and Judice) & Jeter "Busty" Downs.

Comp Pick for losing...

O Cabrera> Ellsbury & Lowrie

Damon> D Bard

Beltre> JBJ

Ellsbury (from OCab)> Kopech

ERod> Roman Anthony

Bogey> K Campbell

Pivetta> Godbout

Gotta look at the whole picture and the underlying contexts.

 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Teams signing superstars longterm are all about contracts half full -- they know they're paying for the first half of contracts, with the understanding that the back-end won't be as productive.

Mookie led LA to three World Series in the first half of his contract. The Dodgers have won 35 postseason games in those years. They got what they paid for.

The Red Sox won zero playoff games in those years.

The key is to lock 'em up BEFORE they become superstars, even if you guess wrongly on a few.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

6 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

The key is to lock 'em up BEFORE they become superstars, even if you guess wrongly on a few.

The front office blew that with Mookie, because every time they made him a "competitive" offer, it was a year too late for what his market value had actually become.

And this was when Dombrowski was GM, and then presumably when Bloom took over... two different guys in charge, with different agendas.

The common thread: the dozens of Assistant Vice Presidents -- who are still there -- haunting the conference rooms with their spreadsheets and projections. 

But the extensions for Bello, Rafaela, Campbell and Anthony, among others, show that at least they learned something...

[mvp 78]

10 hours ago, harmony said:

What makes the thread' title's conclusion official?

I think the point is that he's just "officially" on the back half of his contract after this season? We can all do math, buddy. He's still worth the price tag.