Rumors are swirling that the Boston Red Sox will listen to offers for Mookie Betts. Trading their superstar outfielder would be an unforgivable mistake.
From the moment that Mookie Betts scampered home for the winning run in the regular-season finale, the elated feeling brought on by the walk-off victory quickly faded into despair. We’ve been privileged to watch this young outfielder develop into a superstar over the last few years but with an uncertain offseason looming, many have wondered if that thrilling end to the 2019 season is the last the Boston Red Sox will see of Betts.
Not to worry, Betts isn’t going anywhere. Not now and not for the foreseeable future. Betts is a generational talent in the prime of his career. The 2018 AL MVP is a five-tool player who can impact a game in a variety of ways. Only Mike Trout (34.9 fWAR) has been more valuable than Betts (30.7 fWAR) since 2016, according to the FanGraphs version of WAR.
A player like this doesn’t come around often so when you’re fortunate enough to find one, you do everything in your power to retain them. The Los Angeles Angels already did so by locking up Trout with the largest contract in MLB history. The Red Sox must be prepared to give Betts a deal that falls in the same stratosphere.