Hate to be the realist here, but if it has not dawned on you yet that Betts intends to test the market, just like Tom Brady is going to test the market, which in fact is going to give Mookie all the more incentive to test his market in his sport when he sees the hoopla created by another Boston sports icon. I would say the impending Brady free agency and the hysteria that will come from the New England base in the media are factoring into the trade talk we are hearing about now more in earnest. I do not believe he has ever intended to resign in Boston, and now he is holding a gun to managements head. Multi year contracts have ruined baseball, and out priced the average fan. Beyond 4 years for a contract is bad business, but then no one in this forum cares about money, because it is not their money. The bottom line in all this in "free market" ******** is that it is no such thing, if I was one of these billionaire owners I would hire me a army of lawyers and go after MLB and their communist " payroll tax". I am just waiting to see which set of suckers are going to help their 'league' implode by going on strike...my bet...the NFL...Oh yeah trade Mookie and get what you can get, because the alternative is getting nothing but draft picks and repeating the cycle. No loyalty in the game anymore