Dodgers’ chances of big trade for Mookie Betts still alive
LOS ANGELES — Winter might not be over yet.
With Dodgers pitchers and catchers scheduled to report for the start of spring training in less than two weeks, the narrative surrounding the team’s offseason seemed set in stone – they had swung big at the top of the market (Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon, Francisco Lindor) but would head to Arizona having added only at the margins, committing a paltry $15 million (plus possible bonuses) to add three potential bounceback candidates to the pitching staff (Alex Wood, Jimmy Nelson and Blake Treinen). The relative inactivity stirred discontent among a segment of the team’s fan base already grumpy following last fall’s surprising early exit from the postseason.
But the Dodgers’ attempts to add an impact player “at the top of the roster,” as Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman put it, might not be over. Trade discussions between the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox regarding outfielder Mookie Betts have percolated on and off throughout the winter and now appear to be heating up again with the Red Sox less inclined to head into the spring with Betts’ status unsettled.
“We have a lot of talent, a lot of depth and a lot of versatility. Whenever that’s your jumping off point, it puts you in a good position,” Friedman said at last weekend’s annual FanFest event. “We hunted a few guys at the top of the roster, and beyond that, we’re really focused on upside. Because for us – for lack of a better term – we have kind of a high floor basically everywhere.
“In a lot of ways the offseason is still roaring on and there’s still a lot of conversations and things happening. But we feel good about where we are and if we’re able to do something that makes us feel even better, that’s awesome.”
The addition of Betts to a lineup that led the National League in runs scored, home runs and OPS last season would be … well, awesome.
The 27-year-old outfielder already has one American League MVP award under his belt (during Boston’s 2018 championship season), a second-place finish (2016) and four consecutive All-Star appearances and four consecutive Gold Glove awards. Over the past four seasons, Betts has batted .305 with a .917 OPS, 98 stolen bases and 116 home runs.
The Red Sox and Betts agreed on a one-year contract for 2020 at $27 million, a record for an arbitration-eligible player. With no traction on a long-term extension, however, Betts can become a free agent next winter and all indications are that the Red Sox would rather move Betts now or at the midseason trade deadline rather than risk losing him for a draft pick next winter.
Trading Betts is also Boston’s best bet to address its twin goals of infusing talent into a weak farm system and getting the payroll under the competitive balance tax threshold. Toward that end, the Dodgers and San Diego Padres have emerged as the most likely trade partners
The Padres’ farm system is one of the most well-stocked in baseball, giving them plenty of prospects to deal for Betts. However, they have committed big money to Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers (each signed at least through 2022) and might not be as well-positioned to take on another large salary (albeit only for one year).
The Dodgers, on the other hand, have both payroll flexibility (they are projected to be at least $40 million below the luxury-tax threshold in 2020 after dipping below the CBT the past two years) and a deep farm system. With few long-term contract commitments, they would also have reason to be confident about their chances of signing Betts to a contract extension (if he is willing).
Although they have been portrayed as unwilling to deal either of their top two prospects (infielder Gavin Lux and right-hander Dustin May), the Dodgers have an ample assortment of trade assets from which to build a trade offer.
Beyond Lux and May, they have five more blue-chippers ranked in Baseball America’s Top 100 – catchers Keibert Ruiz and Diego Cartaya, right-handers Josiah Gray and Tony Gonsolin and infielder Jeter Downs. They have shown a willingness in other trade talks to move young outfielder Alex Verdugo and also have big-league ready players such as Edwin Rios or Matt Beaty who could be included in a deal. Role players like Kiké Hernandez, Chris Taylor or Joc Pederson could also have trade value though their higher salaries could be problematic.
In order to protect some of those assets, the Dodgers could expand the trade to include Red Sox left-hander David Price. The prospect of getting out from under some if not all of the $96 million owed to Price over the next three seasons could make the Red Sox willing to deal Betts for a lesser package of talent in return.At 34, Price’s best days are behind him and a troublesome elbow has limited him to 63 starts over the past three seasons and his ERA and WHIP jumped to 4.28 and 1.31 last season (his highest since his rookie season).
Friedman is certainly familiar with Price, having drafted him with the first pick overall in 2007 while running the Tampa Bay Rays and then traded him in July 2014.
Price would add some veteran experience to a rotation depth chart loaded with youth – from Walker Buehler at the front to Julio Urias, May and Gonsolin jockeying for position at the back. Betts would give right-handed balance to a lineup that leans to the left with Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, Corey Seager, Lux and Pederson.
For the Red Sox, a move to offload Betts (and possibly Price) would jumpstart a roster re-set under first-year Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom – who, like Price, got his start in MLB as an intern with the Rays under Friedman 15 years ago.
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