11:52 AM ET
Jeff PassanESPN
CloseESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of one of the most Valuable Commodity in Sports”
Star outfielder Mookie Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers are nearing a massive long-lasting contract extension that would keep the former American League MVP from reaching free firm this winter, sources informed ESPN on Wednesday.
The deal, which could be concurred upon as soon as Wednesday, would keep Betts in Los Angeles for at least a decade, sources informed ESPN.
The Dodgers acquired the 27-year-old Betts from the Boston Red Sox in a blockbuster trade over the winter, giving up outfielder Alex Verdugo and shortstop possibility Jeter Downs with a guarantee of just one year– and the hope that he would consider re-signing before hitting the free market.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Betts was anticipated to receive a deal worth a minimum of $300 million. Speculation that the games uncertain monetary future would muddy Betts windfall will not prove real.
Betts is considered one of the best all-around players in baseball– an elite leadoff hitter with power, speed and four Gold Gloves in ideal field. He capped his championship-winning 2018 season with an MVP award and followed last year by hitting.295/.391/.524.
The Dodgers, with an unrivaled young core and payroll versatility to match, were the perfect destination for him. The group currently has no financial commitments beyond the 2022 season, though reigning National League MVP Cody Bellinger is because of strike free company after 2023 and frontline starter Walker Buehler following the 2024 season.
Amongst Betts, Bellinger, Buehler, shortstop Corey Seager, 2nd baseman Gavin Lux, catcher Will Smith and pitcher Dustin May, the Dodgers are primed to preserve their position as one of the games elite teams. They have actually won seven consecutive NL West titles and lost 2 World Series, to the Houston Astros in 2017 and to Betts Red Sox in 2018.
In Boston, Betts went from a fifth-round pick taken as a second baseman out of a Nashville high school to a star who transitioned to outfield in his third season and ended up as runner-up in the MVP race. Already, Bettts had ingratiated himself with colleagues and fans, who grew to enjoy the 5-foot-9, 180-pound sparkplug for his marvelous crowning achievement over the Green Monster and peerless patrolling of the challenging Fenway Park outfield.
His trade drew substantial criticism in Boston, where fans regreted the Red Soxs objection to satisfy Betts needs on a long-lasting contract and lamented the loss of the teams finest homegrown gamer considering that Carl Yastrzemski. While Verdugo and Downs are expected to play large roles in the Red Soxs retooling, Betts is on a Hall of Fame track– and now could spend the majority of his career in Los Angeles.
While the Dodgers are amongst the groups that have actually been struck the worst by the pandemic– they each year draw the most fans in baseball– it didnt keep them from locking up Betts. Upon the recommendation by WEEI that a long-term handle the Dodgers impended, players around the video game hoped it was an indication that free agency may not be as bleak a landscape as has actually been presumed.
Maybe that shows real, though Betts is an unusual skill who will soon inhabit rare company. Only Mike Trout ($426.5 million), Bryce Harper ($330 million), Giancarlo Stanton ($325 million), Gerrit Cole ($324 million) and Manny Machado ($300 million) have crossed the $300 million contract threshold. When his deal is finished, Betts is expected to join them.
