Inside The Dodgers

Former Red Sox Exec Provides Major Insight Into Mookie Betts Trade to Dodgers

Maren Angus-Coombs|
Oct 30, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts (50) celebrates after hitting a sacrifice fly during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees in game four of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Oct 30, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts (50) celebrates after hitting a sacrifice fly during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees in game four of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers' use of deferrals in player contracts has sparked a debate among baseball executives: Is it fair or not?

Zack Scott, former acting general manager of the New York Mets and a four-time champion with the Boston Red Sox, shared his perspective on the contract negotiations with Mookie Betts and how things might have turned out differently if Boston had adopted the Dodgers' approach.

"Mookie Betts’ contract with the Dodgers offers another compelling example," Scott wrote for MLB Trade Rumors. "He signed a $365MM deal with $115MM deferred. While the headline figure was impressive (second largest contract behind Trout!), the present value was $307MM, placing it below a few additional contracts (Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gerrit Cole).

"This structure allowed the Dodgers to acquire a star player while satisfying Mookie and his agent’s desire to be seen as a top-two player. In Boston, we had tried to re-sign Betts, but our self-imposed $300MM limit wasn’t enough to meet this desire. A similar deferral structure to the Dodgers’ deal might have changed the outcome."

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Unable to come to an agreement, the Red Sox traded Betts to the Dodgers before the 2020 season. At the time, Betts was a rental player entering the final year of his contract, but the Dodgers managed to convince him to stay for 12 more years.

Despite the trade, Betts holds no ill will toward the Red Sox. He fondly recalls his time in Boston, but during an appearance on the "All the Smoke" podcast, he described joining the Dodgers as "the best thing that's ever happened" to him.

“People think I hate it. People think I didn’t want to be there and that was all a facade,” Betts said. “Like, it’s still business. Business is business. You have to be able to separate business from personal.

“Now, being personal and my personal relationship with Boston, as I said, I loved it, absolutely loved it. I still talk to front office people there and to AC (Alex Cora). I loved it. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love where I’m at now. I love Dave Roberts, being a Dodger, and being a Dodger has probably been the best thing that’s ever happened to my life.”

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State and has been a sports writer since 2008. Despite growing up in the South, her sports obsession has always been in Los Angeles. She is currently a staff writer at the LA Sports Report Network.

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