Betts and Price to Dodgers, Verdugo, Downs, Wong to Red Sox, Maeda to Twins

[MadThinker88]

There's no reason for him to. Why would he limit himself to one team, when 20+ could be bidding in 9 months?

 

More likely 5 or less teams will be bidding for him. Many will want him, few will fork out $350+ mil for any player. In addition, many high payroll teams don’t exactly have super flexible contracts.

 

Let this thought simmer for a few minutes:

- Mookie wants to test free agency but his targeted cost should limit the number of suitors.

- Being that LAD acquired him now, they would be able to extend a QO to Betts after the season.

- Common reasoning is Mookie declines it and tests the market starting November 2020.

 

What if Mookie accepts the QO (like Ryu did after 2018)??

- Yes it limits his earnings for 2021 but the current CBA expires after the 2021 season. The entire free agent landscape could look different after a new CBA is agreed to & he might have more suitors/ flexibility. One downside is other players (like Lindor/ Kris Bryant) are also set to be free agents after the 2021 season.

 

Should Mookie be in a rush to sign a long-term extension or free agent deal?? IMHO its not cut & dried due to the CBA aspect.

 

It will be interesting to watch & see how it plays out..

[Eye Black]

This Dodgers lineup (per Mike Petriello)...

 

[MrTPlush]

Not to sidetrack but looking at what Betts wants to get in his age 29 season... No way the brewers resign yelich

 

We have known this since September 2018.

[3and2Fastball]

Pfft, big deal. We got Ryon Healy and Justin Smoak.

 

Well played, sir! Well played...

[MoreTrife]

Not to sidetrack but looking at what Betts wants to get in his age 29 season... No way the brewers resign yelich

 

We have known this since September 2018.

 

Well, I don't think most fans realize this. Gonna be a tough moment when he's gone. Baseball sucks that way.

[sveumrules]

This Dodgers lineup (per Mike Petriello)...

 

 

The Dodgers are clearly the class of the NL, but Muncy (208), Seager (181), Pollock (175) & Turner (118) have all missed 100+ games over the last three years.

 

Smith & Lux are great prospects, but have less than 300 combined MLB plate appearances, so their production has a wide range of potential outcomes.

 

Bellinger & Betts are superstars, sure, but even then they have both alternated MVP caliber seasons with merely All Star caliber seasons. Their OPS+ marks in 2020 will likely come in closer to their 135-144 career marks than their 169-186 career highs.

[adambr2]

There's no reason for him to. Why would he limit himself to one team, when 20+ could be bidding in 9 months?

 

More likely 5 or less teams will be bidding for him. Many will want him, few will fork out $350+ mil for any player. In addition, many high payroll teams don’t exactly have super flexible contracts.

 

Let this thought simmer for a few minutes:

- Mookie wants to test free agency but his targeted cost should limit the number of suitors.

- Being that LAD acquired him now, they would be able to extend a QO to Betts after the season.

- Common reasoning is Mookie declines it and tests the market starting November 2020.

 

What if Mookie accepts the QO (like Ryu did after 2018)??

- Yes it limits his earnings for 2021 but the current CBA expires after the 2021 season. The entire free agent landscape could look different after a new CBA is agreed to & he might have more suitors/ flexibility. One downside is other players (like Lindor/ Kris Bryant) are also set to be free agents after the 2021 season.

 

Should Mookie be in a rush to sign a long-term extension or free agent deal?? IMHO its not cut & dried due to the CBA aspect.

 

It will be interesting to watch & see how it plays out..

 

There is a zero, absolutely 0% chance that Mookie Betts accepts a QO. If he really wants a 1 year deal to re-enter FA under the new CBA, there are at least 10 teams that would give him 1 year/$35M without thinking twice. He wouldn't need to settle for half that. Or he can probably get a long-term deal with numerous opt outs.

[TJseven7]

Hearing half of Prices deal... 48 mil. That still makes Price a -29 mil dollar value. Betts is a 36 million dollar value.

 

Dodgers get 7 mil in value but 26 mil of it is this year. They also get the QO pick.

For verdugo and maeda. That's not a value win. That's a 2020 win only.

 

People hate this for the Red Sox but this is a great deal for the Red Sox. Now they are roughly 20 mil under the lux tax line.

[CheezWizHed]

Not to sidetrack but looking at what Betts wants to get in his age 29 season... No way the brewers resign yelich

 

We have known this since September 2018.

 

Well, I don't think most fans realize this. Gonna be a tough moment when he's gone. Baseball sucks that way.

 

I think I'm over Molitor going to the Blue J..nope, still hurts.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Imagine caring more about not paying a completely affordable luxury tax than retaining a fan favorite MVP outfielder.

 

It's not about whether they can afford to do it, it's about whether it makes baseball sense to do so

 

I would think it makes baseball sense to try and retain a 27 year old MVP.

 

Not when doing so only guarantees you 1 more season of him on an aging roster in payroll hell, and keeping said roster in tact for 2020 all but guarantees the red Sox will have major difficulties even doing a proper tear down/rebuild. It's not just the luxury tax penalty...its losing high draft picks in perpetuity, too.

[homer]

I would be ticked if I was a Red Sox fan.

[brooks_quichenick]

I would be ticked if I was a Red Sox fan.

 

Same here. The BOSTON RED SOX crying poor is just pathetic. John Henry should sell the team.

[sveumrules]

I would be ticked if I was a Red Sox fan.

 

Same here. The BOSTON RED SOX crying poor is just pathetic. John Henry should sell the team.

 

If teams like the Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, etc spent with impunity & chose to blow by the luxury tax every year, for multiple years in a row (which many fans seem to believe they could technically "afford" to do), outcry over the financial imbalance in the game would be deafening. Competitive balance might become even more skewed towards the top than it already is currently.

 

When the rich teams choose to operate responsibly for their long term success within the rules established by the CBA by dipping under the tax threshold to reset the penalties every so often, they get ripped for being cheap, even though their perceieved thrift is what allows teams like Milwaukee to have a chance at competing in the first place.

 

I hope rich teams continue to treat the luxury tax line as a soft salary cap because it is better for the competitive landscape of the league as a whole.

[brewcrewdue80]

Am I the only one who doesn't understand what the Twins are doing here? Seems like a dumb move on their part.

 

Graterol doesn't get them a full season as a SP. Maeda will and is proven. 4years cheap of proven full season is a huge win for the Twins. Graterol is probably the Dodgers answer on a RP and Dustin May is now entrenched in their rotation for 2020

 

Personally for the Dodgers. Just wow. What a power move. Can they set the all-time record for wins in a season this year? Price gets to pitch in the NL. You know he can go 200+ This has got to only turn out great for LA.

 

I think Boston got a bit hosed honestly. We'll see just how bad with the money.

 

 

Ahh my mistake the Red Sox get Graterol not the Dodgers. Sooo Bullpen need LA? I mean if you're winning 7-1 is that really a big need?

[TJseven7]

I would be ticked if I was a Red Sox fan.

 

I get that but not doing this was being delusional. Sale Price Eovaldi were on the cap for 79 million dollars this year. They weren't pitching sub 4 ERA ball and are all past 30. There's another 13 mil on Pedroia who can't get healthy.

 

It's really hard to overcome that. That's almost our payroll on guys who aren't close to living up to expectations.

 

What better year to drop under the lux tax line? And this all ends (and they come out smelling like roses) if they drop 350 mil on Betts next year and buy him back. If they don't, I'm sure they'll land another top flight FA soon enough.

[BrewFan130]

I think they’re feeling competitive after the offense they put up last season that they’re looking to round out pitching to take them to the next level. Not to mention competition in AL Central was a little weak with the tigers and royals giving wins away.

[RollieTime]

First thought after seeing this trade is “well, all that’s left to do now is trade for Hader”.

 

Red Sox did extremely well here. 4(?) years of an All-Star caliber outfielder in Verdugo and a very highly regarded pitching prospect for just one year of Mookie Betts at $27 million while also clearing a good portion of Price’s contract.

 

Moving Joc in a separate transaction made sense with Bellinger and Betts playing every single day and Pollock most likely playing everyday as well. Rengifo plays SS and 2B and comes with 6 years of control. You could look at it as Pederson only having 1 year left on his contract and being redundant on their roster. But you could look at it a different way and see the Rengifo acquisition pointing toward them possibly moving Lux in a trade for someone like Hader while already having the replacement on the roster.

 

The Dodgers are already all in. Why stop short of having a dominant bullpen? Finish the offseason off and get the prized reliever in the game.

[Ennder]

I would be ticked if I was a Red Sox fan.

 

I wouldn't be. I'd be resting on my 4 world series championships in 16 years and trust in the team to make good choices. If the Red Sox want to do a 1 year rebuild this is the perfect way for them to do it. They may be down a bit in 2020 but the team will be better in 2021+ for it.

[brewers4eric]

Two years ago I took my son to Cedar Rapids when the Timber Rattlers were in town and we happened to see a Graterol start. He made a mockery of the T-Rats lineup with his 100 mph heat. I'm not sure if he is destined to be a starter for the Red Sox, but he certainly flashed some raw talent that day. My son just turned 12, but he still talks about him.

[KeithStone53151]

Why is everyone acting like the red Sox are rebuilding? They still have an excellent roster and could very easily contend. They probably need a couple things to break their way, but this definitely isn't enough to be a punt on 2020.

[Lathund]

For the Red Sox I like the move if the motivation behind it was right. If it was because (1) they were certain that Mookie was intent on testing free agency and weren't going to sign an extension no matter what (Or wasn't going to unless it dwarfed Trout's), (2) they did not believe their team could be competitive in 2020 and (3) making this move wouldn't hurt their chances of signing him in FA too much, then the deal made sense for them. They get a good young outfielder for 5 years, and a very intriguing pitching prospect, albeit seemingly a high variance one. And, assuming the reports of Dodgers taking on ~half Price's salary are accurate, save $43m allowing them to reset the luxury tax penalties.

 

But if these things aren't true, and it was entirely driven by a desire to get under the luxury tax treshold, then it's a terrible look for them. Especially if this means they've cost themselves the chance of signing him in FA; I don't believe they have, he'll go to the highest bidder. But it's not impossible. The first two tiers of the luxury tax are entirely financial, and even when maxing out those penalties the revenue of teams like the Dodgers, Cubs, Yankees and Red Sox still means they're probably more profitable than the Pirates are with their rebuilding non-existent payroll. It's still good and smart for teams like that to reset the penalties in years where it makes sense. But you get to that point by having a year where much of your squad are home-grown pre-arb (or early arb) players enabling you to still spend a lot of money to be highly competitive while still staying under the tax for that year. Like the Dodgers right now for instance. You do it by not paying mediocre players big money, not by letting Mookie Betts go for financial reasons.

 

From the Dodgers point of view, it's a good deal. It's not great from a value standpoint, but it makes them a much better team here and now, and that's what matters for them right now. They've very smartly built themselves a perennial contender, with I don't know how many consecutive division titles, back to back WS appearances etc. And they have a great prospect pipeline still. So even going for it with a negative value trade on paper doesn't really matter; it doesn't set them back notably for the future, and it makes them better now. Maeda is a solid pitcher on a very team friendly deal. Price's contract is terrible, but he is still the better pitcher of the two. Heck, if he can stay healthy $15m AAV isn't bad at all. Pederson is also a good player, but he's not Mookie. Team control is the same for both.

[jjfanec]

I get the twins wanting to go for it but man I would have thought they could get a little better starter than Maeda for Graterol. I am probably underestimating the value of Maeda's extremely low contract though

[Lathund]

I get the twins wanting to go for it but man I would have thought they could get a little better starter than Maeda for Graterol. I am probably underestimating the value of Maeda's extremely low contract though

 

It has a lot of incentives in it. Which doesn't change the fact that it's very team friendly, but not quite to the extreme degree as the initial $3m AAV would suggest.

 

With 32 starts and 200+ IP, incentives max out at an extra $10m annually. Between 25 and 30 starts and 160 IP is $5.5m.

 

I also would have thought they could do better at a first glance. But I also haven't looked at Graterol or the Twins in any real detail.

[homer]

I would be ticked if I was a Red Sox fan.

 

I wouldn't be. I'd be resting on my 4 world series championships in 16 years and trust in the team to make good choices. If the Red Sox want to do a 1 year rebuild this is the perfect way for them to do it. They may be down a bit in 2020 but the team will be better in 2021+ for it.

 

I don't feel sorry for them. I'm glad the city of Boston is on the downslope in terms of pro sports. If I was them, I'd be ticked though.

[TURBO]

Pfft, big deal. We got Ryon Healy and Justin Smoak.

 

ok, this was funny...

 

Kind of sad, but still funny.