The Boston Red Sox are in a deadlock with the San Diego Padres for a trade involving Mookie Betts. One of the bullet points is Wil Myers and his salary.
We’re officially on “Mookie Betts Watch” as the superstar right fielder is the talk of the baseball town right now. The Red Sox have made attempts to sign him long-term but those efforts have been denied by the former MVP. Trade talks have gotten white-hot in the last week or so with the Padres and even the Dodgers becoming possible suitors.
The Padres have been the favorite to land Betts’ services as they’re been the most heavily focused on by those that cover the league. The Dodgers could obviously afford Mookie but they have their own soon to be free agents to worry about. So with San Diego being the odds on top dog right now, what’s the holdup?
Well, first of all, it’s getting the right return for the Red Sox as it’s one thing to trade someone the caliber of Betts to another squad but it’s another when it’s only for a guaranteed year. See, Mookie is hellbent on testing free agency next winter, especially after seeing his counterparts clean up in the money department.
Boston reportedly offered him a 10 year/$300M extension but the lead-off man declined. He instead came back with a desire for something in the 12 year/$420M ballparks, a steep increase from where the Red Sox where looking. It was already pretty likely that at some point this season Boston would try and move Betts but now that we know how far apart the sides are in terms of money, it feels inevitable.
The Padres backed the Brinks truck up to Manny Machado‘s house last winter giving him a 10 year/$300M contract which was happily accepted. So we know that they have the cash and the desire to buy the pieces they feel are necessary in order to contend in the NL West.
San Diego doesn’t want to part with a chunk of their top prospects but is willing to deal some to the Red Sox. They also want to send Wil Myers to Boston as part of the deal as long as the Sox cover part of his salary.
That pretty much sums up the stalemate between the two squads right now as we await a resolution, if there is one. So, if this deal does happen in the next few days and Boston takes Myers from San Diego, what exactly are they getting?
Well, he has the capability of playing either corner of the infield as well as the outfield. Considering the Red Sox just re-signed Mitch Moreland through free agency to cover first and Rafael Devers has the hot corner on lock, Myers would most likely be plugged directly into right field. Boston would feel a massive loss not only in the defensive department but also in the batting order.
It’s hard to find someone that can replicate even to a degree close to what Mookie can do, but Myers would be tasked with trying. We’re coming up on year number eight in the league for Myers and unfortunately, he’s never quite lived up to the potential that surrounded his name while in Tampa. A hot start during his debut season has since cooled to an average career at the plate, which Boston can’t afford.
In 2019 he posted a .239/.321/.418/.739 line with 18 homers and 53 RBI. Compared to Betts’ .295/.391/.524/.915 with 29 dingers and 80 RBI, it’s a steep decline without a doubt. One area where the Red Sox may benefit from getting Myers is the salary.
His $22.5M is below Mookie’s $27M for 2020, albeit a minuscule amount. Definitely not enough to make Chaim Bloom call the Padres in a hurry as it would still leave Boston well above the $208M threshold.
We’ve taken a look at the offensive numbers and even the salary of the two players in question, so let’s hop into the defensive side of things and see where we stand. I won’t take into account what Myers did in the infield during2019 as he’ll most likely never see that part of the field with the way Boston has their lineup set as of now.
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Myers played 134 games in the outfield for San Diego last season which saw him finish with 5 errors and a .979 Fld%. Not awful but also not the greatest numbers on the board. Jumping over to Betts’ side of the coin and there’s a stark difference with just 2 errors in 143 games in the outfield finishing with a .994 Fld%.
It’s no surprise that Mookie is the superior player as anyone that watches the game even a tiny amount can tell you that. He’s a generational talent at a level that Boston hasn’t seen since Ted Williams. However, with the reports of the contract demands and his desire to test free agency in 2021, it feels like his time is up.
If Bloom does complete the trade and the Sox get Myers in return, they’ll be getting back a decent outfielder and overall player, but not one to write home about. Sadly, he’ll most likely get an unfair amount of heat from Red Sox Nation for being the man to replace Mookie but that’s not his fault and he shouldn’t be blamed.
The Red Sox are stuck between a rock and a hard place right now as it feels pretty obvious that we’re in the final days of Mookie Betts in a Boston uniform. San Diego also seems hellbent on moving Will Myers and if that’s what this deal takes to get done then so be it. The team will be hurting with Betts out of the lineup but Myers is more than capable of filling the void in right field if called upon.