So news came out a few days ago that Mookie Betts not only turned down a huge contract extension at the end of the 2017 season from the Red Sox, but that he doesn’t plan on signing an extension and is looking to hit the open market after the 2020 season. Mookie Betts, who is coming off an MVP season, has signed a 1 yr $20 million deal with the Red Sox for the 2019 season. It will be his 5th year in the majors so he’s under team control for next season too. The Red Sox have 2 more left of Mookie before he hits free agency and by the looks of it, he will be hitting free agency. The contract extension that Betts turned down was apparently an 8 yr $200 million deal following the 2017 season. That’s a lot of money to turn down for a guy coming off a .264 season, but he obviously bounced back last year. An 8 year deal at that point in time would have made Mookie Betts a free agent again at age 33, which if he was still a relevant baseball player and you would hope that he is for a guy who will likely be looking for a 10 year deal, he could still get another contract or two and add onto his $200+ million in career earnings. Mookie Betts turning down an 8yr $200 million deal only means that Mookie will not be giving the Red Sox a hometown discount and will be looking for Machado or Harper money. Trout money? Get out of here. So the real question is, is Betts worth it and will the Red Sox be the team to give him his payday?

As a huge Red Sox fan and a big fan of Mookie, I’ll go ahead and say that I’m hesitant to give him that type of money, because to be honest if I was a GM i’m not giving anybody $300+ unless he’s Mike Trout. I would have been completely fine with an 8 year $200 million dollar deal because it would have been a contract that would only take him to 33, had he signed it last year, or 36 if he was to sign it next year, which i would still be okay with because it’s only $25 million AAV. What I don’t want is the Red Sox to give him a 10 year $300 million dollar deal that will pay him until he’s 38. No thanks, I’ll pass. Look Mookie has been incredible for the Red Sox, he’s won an MVP(plus an MVP runner-up), 3 Gold Gloves, and played a huge role last year in winning the World Series, granted his postseason number were less than stellar. He’s got a career .227 postseason avg in 21 games. So look Mookie deserves to get paid $300 million if Harper and Machado deserve it, I just don’t want the Red Sox to do it. Name a $300 million dollar contract that ever worked out. And no offense to Mookie but I don’t see his style of play working in his favor as he gets older. Betts play relies a lot on speed and that will obviously start going down hill after 30. So in the end, I just don’t see him being worth it.

Now will the Red Sox be the team to give him the deal? A week ago I would have said absolutely, but today I’m not so sure. Betts seems unwilling to work out an extension before he hits free agency which is worrisome. It essentially says that he doesn’t care where he plays baseball in his career, as long as he’s making the most money doing it. I guess it’s fine for a player to have that attitude, but it also shows that money is more important to him than winning. So to tell you the truth, I’m not a big fan of the way that Mookie is coming across in this whole ordeal. Whether or not the Sox sign Betts is going to depend a lot on whether or not they pay players like Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr or Andrew Beninitendi. Xander is a really interesting case as he enters his last season under team control in 2019. Bogaerts is is only 26 so he will be hitting free agency pretty young and he’s had some pretty good years but has also had some not so good years. I have absolutely no clue what the market will be like for Bogaerts but Scott Boras is his agent so I’m assuming he will be shooting for the stars. Then you have another Boras client in Jackie Bradley, who is a pathetic hitter, though he can get hot at times, but one of the best defensive players in baseball. Bradley won’t be looking at a 9 figure payday but I could see him getting between $10-13 million for a couple of years. Then lastly you have Beninitendi who is only entering his 3rd year of service but there has already been talk of extending him. If the Red Sox could extend Benintendi with a similar type deal that the Astros signed Bregman to to for around 6 years $100 million, then get Bogaerts for around a 5 years $100-120 million and then sign Bradley to a 4 year $50 million deal, then I’d much rather have that than just Betts. And also it would most likely be cheaper. In the end, I see something similar to this happening rather than the Red Sox signing Betts for $300 million and I’m going to go out on a limb and say there’s a chance the Sox trade Betts next season instead of letting him walk. Spread the wealth among the team is what I would much rather happen.

Thanny

As A Red Sox Fan I'm Not Feeling A $300 Million Deal For Mookie Betts