Dodgers: An intriguing Mookie Betts trade scenario that benefits both sides

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The Los Angeles Dodgers have recently “engaged in exploratory talks” on a Mookie Betts trade, so I created this scenario that would actually work.

Mookie Betts has been in trade talks all offseason including with the Los Angeles Dodgers because the Red Sox have said they want to lower the payroll, and Betts would be paid around a base salary of $27.7 million in his final year with the Red Sox.

Betts is one of the best in the game, so teams aren’t going to be able to give Chaim Bloom players that won’t be impact players either immediately or in the very near future.

In my opinion, the Red Sox are contending for a Wild Card in 2020, as teams in their division have only gotten better. The New York Yankees are poised to be in the World Series next October after adding Gerrit Cole, and the Tampa Bay Rays added big power bats in Hunter Renfroe and Yoshitomo Tsutsogo. Even the Toronto Blue Jays have added to their starting rotation.

With the Red Sox’s chances of winning the division getting slimmer as the winter goes on, they have a very important question to answer: Will they trade Mookie Betts?

There are many different avenues that Boston could take, but I will be exploring the trade avenue because this is where the Red Sox can add the most value to their organization.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are never afraid to be in talks for big stars, so I have made a trade scenario that would work between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox involving Mookie Betts…

BOSTON, MA – DECEMBER 9: Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom of the Boston Red Sox speaks during the 2019 Major League Baseball Winter Meetings on December 9, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

Why the Boston Red Sox do it. . player. 14. . .

Boston Red Sox acquire:

Los Angeles Dodgers acquire:

Mookie Betts

This trade is one that fits for both the Red Sox and the Dodgers. Let’s start with the Red Sox side of things.

Chaim Bloom was not brought in to just keep the roster the way it is. No, he came in to restructure and re-imagine it, and I think that he and the organization would benefit from gaining three attractable players.

Ross Stripling is a pitcher who hasn’t really gotten a full chance to show what he has got with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Stripling has only pitched in 65 games over the span of the last two years while relievers on his team like Kenley Jansen–who has struggled in the regular season in the last two seasons–has appeared in 131 games.

Some people don’t remember this but he was an All-Star in 2018, so he has the ability to really impact the Red Sox bullpen, who struggled last season.

Tony Gonsolin, 25, is another reliever that has the potential to be an impact pitcher out of the bullpen. Although it is a small amount of work, Gonsolin pitched to a 2.93 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 40 innings of work. And I think Chaim Bloom would be able to trade for Gonsolin because he isn’t going to get many chances in the Dodgers bullpen, which includes the likes of Kenley Jansen, Joe Kelly, and now Blake Treinen.

A.J. Pollock is another key piece of the trade, and I understand why some Boston fans wouldn’t want to take on his contract. But he is going to get paid a base contract of $12 million, which is almost half of what Mookie Betts would be paid in 2020, which saves Boston at least $15 million.

And while Boston will likely lose Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. is going to be a free agent after 2020 and there’s no guarantee he is going to stay which would leave two holes in the outfield if they didn’t get back an outfielder like Pollock in a trade.

While the Red Sox would lose Betts, they would be getting back more value in a trade with Los Angeles than they would if they let Betts walk away (a compensation pick).

(Photo by Scott Varley/Digital First Media/Torrance Daily Breeze via Getty Images) /

. player. 71. . . . Why the Los Angeles Dodgers do it

I believe the reasons that the Los Angeles Dodgers complete the trade are simple.

First, the Dodgers didn’t have to give up any of their treasured pieces–Gavin Lux, Dustin May, or Alex Verdugo— and they get to have a top ten player in the game.

The Dodgers have been in conversations with the Cleveland Indians on Francisco Lindor, but they are essentially saying that Gavin Lux is virtually untouchable. Well, I would think that the Red Sox would want to get Lux to be their second baseman if they are giving away their best player.

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But if Andrew Friedman is able to keep Lux and add Betts then it lengthens their lineup drastically.

May and Verdugo are also players that would be a big part of the Dodgers success alongside Betts. Dustin May would likely slot into the back end of the rotation assuming Los Angeles doesn’t keep Hyun-Jin Ryu and Rich Hill. Verdugo would likely be the left fielder with a combination of Betts and Bellinger in center field and right field.

The Dodgers would be replacing A.J. Pollock–who went hitless in the 2019 NLDS– with Mookie Betts, which speaks for itself.

I also believe the Dodgers would be just fine with giving up Ross Stripling and Tony Gonsolin. Los Angeles has a bullpen with a lot of depth that includes Kenley Jansen, Joe Kelly, Blake Treinen, Pedro Baez, and Adam Kolerak.

Therefore, would Stripling and Gonsolin be guaranteed to make the postseason roster or make a large enough impact for the Dodgers in 2020 to refuse a trade that would send over Mookie Betts? I don’t think so.

The final reason why I would pull the trigger if I were in the Dodgers shoes is that they are so close to getting over the hump. Before the disappointing Game 5 loss to the Nationals, they made back-to-back World Series appearances in 2017 and 2018 and who knows what would’ve happened if Howie Kendrick wouldn’t have hit that grand slam? Your guess is as good as mine, but all I know is numerous people thought the Dodgers were considered World Series favorites going into October.

And with that said, they are essentially bringing back the same team that won 106 games in 2019.

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Now, you’re telling me if the Los Angeles Dodgers were able to trade for Mookie Betts to play alongside MVP Cody Bellinger, they wouldn’t be able to give the New York Yankees a run for their money in the World Series next year? I don’t think so.

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