A quick piece of trivia to begin: how many current Major League Baseball players can you name who are home-grown World Champions with an MVP on their resume at the age of 26 or younger?
Anyone? Bueller?
That’s right. Only one: Mookie Betts.
Given this prestigious position, you may wonder, why would a team ever consider trading such a talented franchise cornerstone? Payroll taxes be damned, there’s no correct answer, no logical reason to do such a thing. And yet, the Boston Red Sox are very openly considering trading their star right fielder ahead of the final year of his rookie contract in 2020.
It has become common practice in the MLB to trade a valuable player ahead of their walk year. The logic is that if the player is unlikely to re-sign during free agency, it’s better to receive prospects or draft picks in return for a year of service rather than to fully lose the player. In some cases, this strategy makes perfect sense. For teams that are rebuilding or that lack a legitimate chance to compete, it works.
The Red Sox are not that team. Less than a year removed from a World Championship (and from Betts’ American League MVP), the Sox are still positioned to be one of the game’s best teams for years to come. But Betts must be central to that blueprint.
The storyline has become that the Sox will attempt to keep either Betts or slugger J.D. Martinez, but likely not both. Martinez has the ability to opt out of his contract this winter, and as one of Boston’s all-time best free agent signings, he is also a priority for the front office.
In his two years on the Red Sox, Martinez has amassed 79 homers, 235 runs batted in, a .317 batting average, and .985 on-base plus slugging percentage. He’s been an All-Star both seasons, and last year became the first player to ever win the Silver Slugger award for multiple positions.
If Martinez stays in Boston, he will earn $23.75 million next season. Given his track record, if he elects free agency, he would almost certainly make much more than that. The Sox could attempt to restructure his contract or extend Martinez to prevent that possibility.
In an interview on Monday, team president Sam Kennedy again referenced the impending decision the Red Sox must make, saying it would be difficult to retain both Betts and Martinez. The team seems intent on slashing some payroll to avoid further tax penalties in 2020 and beyond.
This whole conversation is ridiculous. Not only could the Red Sox conceivably continue their financial carelessness and keep both Martinez and Betts, but if it really does come down to one player or the other, the better choice is as clear as day. Mookie Betts is the face and the future of the franchise and letting him go would be a grave mistake. As The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn put it, it would amount to “malpractice.”
There is no doubt that Martinez is incredibly valuable. The leadership he brings to the clubhouse has been well-documented, and it is no secret that he serves as an unofficial assistant hitting coach, helping his teammates improve. But at the end of the day, Martinez is a temporary fixture; he’s 32-years-old, barely plays defense and has no ties to the organization or city.
Betts, on the other hand, is 26, a Gold Glove winner and has been a member of the franchise since Theo Epstein drafted him in 2011. He often comments on his love for the city of Boston and its fans and has expressed interest in staying with the team. It’s a no-brainer.
Beyond the statistics, the Sox would be sending the complete wrong message by trading Betts. In today’s sports landscape, it is rare for a player to remain with one team for the entirety of his career, but it is still seen as a badge of honor and success when accomplished.
Betts is incredibly popular amongst his teammates and fans, he’s active in the community, and if given the chance, could vie for his spot on the Red Sox Mount Rushmore. He’s a four-time All-Star, a perennial MVP candidate and the best player in the league not named Mike Trout. What more could the Sox be looking for?
At the end of the day, baseball is a business. And given the recent trends with monster contracts, it is likely that Betts will command at least $300 million over 10 or more seasons. And while that is objectively an absurd amount of money for any individual to make, in the context of today’s game, the Sox should give him every last penny he seeks. He deserves it.
So as the Red Sox enter this offseason, they will continue to publicly weigh their options, expressing a falsely challenging choice between Martinez and Betts. Of course, losing Martinez would be a difficult pill to swallow for the team’s lineup. He filled a David Ortiz-sized hole in the lineup and brought the Sox offense to a new level.
But losing Betts? That would be a decade-defining mistake no amount of financial pontificating or Martinez homers could erase.
Right on! The Red Sox will manage to screw it up like they did with four sore arm pitcher @ $90m per year.