Mookie Betts' Former Teammates Don’t Understand How Red Sox Actually Traded Him to Dodgers
Enjoying another MVP level campaign, current Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts thought his 2023 level of success would be with the franchise that drafted him over a decade ago.
Dealt by the Red Sox in the 2020 offseason, Betts' former teammates in both Boston and LA equally shared confusion over how any team could trade away a player as talented as the 2018 MVP.
“You don’t let a guy like that walk,” Martinez said. “You gotta do whatever you need to do to sign him.”
J.D Martinez shared in World Series glory with Betts over the Dodgers in 2018 that capped off an insane season for the pair.
While Betts won that aforementioned MVP award in the American League, Martinez enjoyed the best season of his career by finishing fourth in the MVP race with a .330 average, an OPS above 1.000 and 43 home runs en route to his first Silver Slugger award since 2015.
Winning his second ring with LA in his first season with the Dodgers, one current Boston Red Sox pitcher who shared the field with Betts for that moment also was puzzled as to how the franchise could deal him away.
“I don’t know what happened here,” said longtime Dodgers (and current Red Sox) closer Kenley Jansen. “But it’s crazy to me to let a guy like that walk. You don’t give up a guy like that.”
Betts proved the Red Sox wrong over the weekend, taking two of three from his former team and homering in the final game of the three-game set.
Adding his old employer to his hit list, Betts cruised to the Player of the Week award with the series against Boston helping his case.
Though Boston may miss their superstar, the Dodgers know they got one of the best in baseball locked up at Chavez Ravine for the rest of his career.
