Boston Red Sox: Top 3 reasons to keep Mookie Betts
Many fans believe that Mookie Betts will be gone before next season. But what are the best three reasons why he should stay in a Boston Red Sox uniform?
The Boston Red Sox have built their team around Mookie Betts, but there has been plenty of talk about him being moved so that they can get back something in return for one of the best players in the game.
Betts won the 2018 MVP, as he led his team to another World Series title. The 2018 season cemented his legacy among some of the greatest to ever don a Red Sox uniform, but he is going to be a free agent after the 2020 season, which means his name will continue to be floated around as if he is going to be traded to a contender in return for a haul of prospects.
But the fact of the matter is the city of Boston doesn’t like it when teams rebuild, so I don’t see Chaim Bloom doing that in his first season as the chief baseball officer.
There are people that have said that Betts will be gone, especially because ownership has expressed the desire to get below the Luxury Tax.
If you look at all of the recent rumblings around the former AL MVP, you will see a lot of people talking like Betts is already out of town.
But there haven’t been any reports out there that have said that the Red Sox will be trading him, so why think otherwise?
So, let’s look at the best reasons why Mookie Betts should stay in Boston going into next season.
There’s too much to risk in the first year for Chaim Bloom
Chaim Bloom is entering his first winter with the Boston Red Sox, and he has even acknowledged that he needs to get to know all of the people inside the organization. And that includes Mookie Betts.
As I mentioned earlier, the Boston Red Sox have a lot of hardcore fans that don’t like to see their team in a rebuild, especially when their rival, the New York Yankees, are one of the best teams in the league.
Therefore, the fan base would not like it if Betts is traded for a bunch of young talent when he is one of the best players in the game, and not to mention that he is the face of the franchise.
It could also be too much of a risk for Bloom to trade one of the best players in the game as his first major move as the leader of the franchise, and he would not be on the fan base’s good side.
If Bloom trades Betts, the message that fan base would most likely get is that the Red Sox aren’t going to try their best to contend in 2020. Boston fans are going to want to see their team fight with the Yankees next season for the division, and I’ not so sure how they would be able to do so without Betts manning right field at Fenway Park.
Good chance they won’t get back the return Betts is worth
Mookie Betts is one of the best players in the game, as he is in the category just below Mike Trout. But he is going to be paid around $30 million next season before he heads to free agency, and that will certainly be a big factor in whether another team wants to take on Betts for one season.
The Red Sox are going to try to extend their right fielder, but all signs point to him electing free agency, and rightfully so. He is most likely going to get paid money in the open market when he has 30 suitors than he would when the Red sox have no other competition.
Since Betts probably wants to go to free agency, teams are not going to want to offer Chaim Bloom their best young prospects that could be impactful major league players for six years in order to get one year of a guy they would still have to pay $30 million just to see him walk out the door in November.
Therefore, the Red Sox would be better off keeping him because they aren’t going to want to be lowballed when they have a chance of winning another championship with Betts if they keep him.
In free agency the compensation picks seem to be very valuable to every general manager in baseball, so the Red Sox would be able to get a good pick if Betts does leave.
Keeping Betts would also show him that they are committed to him, which could lead to Betts always coming back around to them when he is about to sign a contract in free agency to see if the Red Sox are willing to match it.
Red Sox are still viable contenders!
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News flash, the Boston Red Sox are still a viable contender in the American League. Everyone is acting like the sky is falling because the Red Sox didn’t make the postseason next season, but it just isn’t the case.
The starting rotation currently entails Chris Sale, David Price, and Eduardo Rodriguez with Nathan Eovaldi as an option as well and there are many teams that would love to have that rotation.
Along with Betts, the Red Sox have the best defensive center fielder in baseball right now with another great bat in Andrew Benintendi in left field.
Not to mention that they have one of the best-left sides of the infield in the game with Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts.
J.D. Martinez believes in this team, so much so that he opted in to his contract earlier this winter.
Alex Cora is one of the smartest minds in the game, and he is the one that led the Red Sox to the World Series in his first season at the helm.
Mookie Betts is a big part of what this team can accomplish, but without him, they suddenly have a big hole in right field and at the top of their lineup.
Next. Los Angeles Dodgers wish list this offseason. dark
I think Red Sox fans would agree that they have a talented enough team to get back to where they were two seasons ago, but a big reason why they are so talented is that they have #50 as the face of their franchise.