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.