The Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers swung one of the biggest and most polarizing trades in recent memory.
The reason why it is polarizing is because everyone in Los Angeles loved it but that hasn’t really been in the case in Boston. The Red Sox traded away Most Valuable Player Mookie Betts to Los Angeles ahead of the 2020 season. The Red Sox got a package back featuring Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs, and Connor Wong. Verdugo and Downs are no longer with the organization and Betts is now an eight-time All-Star, three-time World Series champion, six-time Gold Glove Award winner, seven-time Silver Slugger Award winner, batting champ at the age of 32 years old.
There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it, the deal didn’t work out in Boston’s favor.
Now, the Red Sox have another homegrown superstar who has been the subject of trade speculation this season in Rafael Devers. The recent drama about the possibility of moving over to first base has thrown a slight wrench in the season and has led to some pretty insane chatter. Now, Devers’ name is being thrown in trade speculation left and right. For example, Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller shared a post on Tuesday highlighting the top hypothetical “landing spots” for Devers.
One that was mentioned by Miller was the Dodgers.
“The Dodgers are still required to rank in the top five for any marquee player available, right? That’s a joke, of course. It was never required. Constantly feared, perhaps. Always within the realm of possibility, for certain. But never mandated,” Miller said. “It would make an awful lot of sense for them to trade for a star third baseman this offseason, though. Max Muncy has gotten out to a rough start to the year, entering Monday with a sub-.600 OPS. And he isn’t getting any younger, turning 35 this summer. The Dodgers have a $10 million club option (with no buyout) to bring him back next season, but that is questionable, at best, to be exercised at this point…
“If you think that’s going to slow them down, though, you must be new here. Los Angeles currently has an estimated payroll north of $400 million this season, on the hook for over $550 million after you factor in the tax payment. The difference between 11 players making nearly $225 million and 12 players making about $255 million is practically a pittance to them. Moreover, they have more than enough quality prospects to grease the wheels on the ol’ trade machine. But the Dodgers only check in at No. 5 because of one big question: Is Boston seriously going to even entertain the possibility of sending Devers to play alongside Mookie Betts for the next seven years?”
The only reason why Los Angeles even makes the slightest amount of sense is because it can pretty much do whatever it wants. The Dodgers have found a way to bring stars to town left and right and there’s already been rumors that they could have interest in Kyle Tucker next offseason.
There’s no spending limit for them it seems, but this is just wild. After all of the flak the Red Sox’s front office got for the Betts deal, the idea of making another massive move like that just sounds like a pipe dream. It’s just a hypothetical, but it doesn’t seem likely at all.
