Will the Red Sox sign Mookie Betts after 2020 season?
Mookie Betts and the Red Sox can’t seem to come to an agreement. With Betts being a free agent after the 2020 season, will the sides agree on a deal?
It’s no question the 2018 Boston Red Sox were a team of greatness and talent. But we now need to turn the page to 2019 and beyond as we look at players who potentially could be leaving this team. One of those players is Mookie Betts, who was granted $10.5 million for the 2018 season after he won his arbitration case against the Red Sox.
Betts will be a free agent after the 2020 season but until then it’s a fight for Betts to get the money he wants. If he wants that, he needs to prove it on the field. The 2018 MVP shined this season, hitting 32 home runs with 80 RBI’s and 30 stolen bases.
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When it comes to the playoffs, Betts isn’t as explosive at the plate like he is during the regular season. In three years, his postseason batting average is .227 with only one home run, four RBI’s, two stolen bases, and an OPS of .654. His only home run in the postseason was during the 2018 World Series. I’m not sure why he isn’t the same player that he is during the regular season. Granted, he won a World Series but you want that great consistency throughout the playoffs too, not just during the regular season.
It’s a question as to whether or not the front office wants to keep Betts long term after 2020. I personally think they should offer him an extension beyond 2020 but both sides can’t seem to agree on money. That could be because of his postseason numbers. Even though he won MVP this season, when they needed his bat the most he only hit one home run.
Betts made a comment to Christopher Smith of MassLive during the 2018 season that he loves Boston but didn’t give an answer as to whether or not he’d stay after the 2020 season.
"“I love it in Boston,” said Betts. “So I think you’ve just got to cross that bridge as it comes. Right now, I’m enjoying every moment that I’m here.“Boston’s got a lot to offer, It’s just a matter of getting out there and seeing it. It’s kind of tough when you have a game every day. But there’s a lot of things Boston can offer that you’ve just got to get out there and see. You have to do it more in the offseason, but it’s definitely fun.”"
The comment was made in July and obviously before the World Series win. If Betts doesn’t like the offer the Sox give him after the 2020 season, I see him going somewhere else. Especially if they win another World Series, he’s going to want more money. If say either New York or Houston offer him more money, I seem him going there.
Next. Grading the deals that shaped the 2018 season. dark
By that time he’d have a World Series and MVP season under him so all that would matter to him is getting a big contract with lots of money.