Red Sox and Dodgers Make Mookie Betts Trade Official and Put Fans Out of Misery
By Mark Powell
It's official, and Red Sox fans can officially remove any hope from the equation as to whether the franchise would right their wrong and pull out of the Mookie Betts deal. Such a trade marks the end of a competitive era, and perhaps opens another door a few years down the road. That's what Boston is banking on.
In a press conference on Monday evening, Chaim Bloom and Red Sox management said what pundits and reporters alike had theorized and downright stated as fact for weeks now -- Betts, along with David Price, are no longer members of the storied franchise. For better or worse, that is the direction the Red Sox are heading. Fans should buckle up.
Bloom: ‘This trade is a very hard one to make, but our mission, our charge as a department, is to win Year in and year out.’ Verdugo, Wong, Downs represent ‘a major step forward’ for team’s talent base. Says Team expects to compete in 2020.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) February 11, 2020
Bloom's insistence that the Red Sox plan to compete in 2020 is cute, and perhaps expected, but the harsh reality is that plan became far tougher without Betts on the roster this year and long term.
Trading Price would've been manageable and even accommodating for the veteran starter. Paring him with a former MVP still in his prime seems unnecessary and harsh for a fanbase that had gotten oh-so-used to their homegrown star.
Mookie goes to Hollywood.
— Cut4 (@Cut4) February 11, 2020
Dodger fans, meet your newest outfielder. pic.twitter.com/7zgEMf1H9f
Bad photoshop aside, this will be an adjustment for both sides.
Betts never truly wanted to leave Boston, despite what some Beantown reporters toting the company line might say. The Red Sox decided -- perhaps incorrectly -- that this was their only option to move out of a self-inflicted financial crisis.
It's a sad night in Boston.